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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24245818">Bleeding Hearts</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/dangerbox/pseuds/dangerbox'>dangerbox</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Mario &amp; Luigi RPG (Video Games), Super Mario Bros. (Video Games), Super Paper Mario (Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Adventure, Angst, Blood and Violence, Death, Hurt/Comfort, Major Illness, Original Character(s), PTSD, Post-Game(s), Psychological Horror, Vomiting, hero/villain teamups, sort of technically zombie apocalypse, the working title was 'darkfic' idk what else to tell you</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 20:47:05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>39,436</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24245818</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/dangerbox/pseuds/dangerbox</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After five years, Luigi is still struggling with aftershocks of the Chaos Heart, which only gets worse when someone starts raising hell looking for it. Fleeing the apocalypse leads him into the company of villains, but with a common enemy on the rise and out for blood, everyone's black and white moral lines are starting to bleed gray.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>130</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Dead Letters</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It was not normal for Luvbi to dream. When she did, she associated dreaming with fuzzy feelings and a vague sense of nostalgia upon waking. Her mother had assumed it was her experiencing the beating of the pure heart within her, as her sleep muffled the noise of other souls in the afterlife. Her father suggested perhaps it was her quieting her own mind and learning to resonate with the ebb and flow of those very souls.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But a picture, a scene, a sense of presence similar to being actually awake was very unusual for Luvbi. In the first few months it had left her very disoriented, confusing her waking memories with her dreams. Dream - singular, in fact, as it really only seemed to be the one scene that Luvbi visited in her sleep. That, at least, helped her to differentiate it from her waking and truly experienced memories, and place it within the category of imagination, or perhaps some sort of vision. It was the dark ruins of a castle that she always found herself in, though she could not describe with much clarity the details of the building when she tried to later recall them. Only that it was dark, it was (at some point in its life) a castle, and she did not feel alone when she was there.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A chilling wind would sweep through sometimes, almost as if it were trying to blow her deeper down the narrow halls. Then, it took the form of a purple mist that would swirl around her and twist within the crumbling corners. Sometimes it looked like twinkling stars dancing further along the path it made, and sometimes it sounded like a music box playing in the distance. Something enticing her curiosity. Drawing her further within. Beckoning her to follow. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The night that Luvbi first saw golden eyes flicker in the darkness and startled awake with a shout, she finally went to her parents with the nagging fear that something about the visions was </span>
  <em>
    <span>wrong</span>
  </em>
  <span>. They listened patiently to her, and soothed her anxieties with kind words, but ultimately came to the conclusion that if she was scaring herself, she should consider spending more time in her father’s realm. Luvbi tried to maintain her own quickly fraying patience, and described with persistent detail the strange fog that would arrive to usher her inside the gloomy castle ruins. As if it had brought her there, and was seeking to take her somewhere else.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Only a dream, they had assured her with sympathetic smiles. All in her head.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They must have bought the act when Luvbi feigned falling asleep on the couch in the sitting room. Grambi gently laid a blanket over her and tucked a golden curl away from her face. “Jayd…” he said softly. “...thou dost not think… someone in thine kingdom-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I know who it is, Gram,” Jaydes said immediately. She kept her voice low, to avoid waking their child, but her tone was tense. “A soul named ‘Antasma’ I’ve got in the keep. Turned himself into a living nightmare.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luvbi tried not to flinch, and was lucky Grambi turned away from her to sit closer to Jaydes. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>In</span>
  </em>
  <span> thine castle?” he hissed in an anxious way.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“In the </span>
  <em>
    <span>keep</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Grams, not just wandering free,” Jaydes snapped. She paused, and Luvbi concentrated on breathing deeply and evenly. Jaydes lowered her voice to a whisper and continued, “His soul was too unstable to toss anywhere else. Didn’t think he was even conscious still - most of the fragments aren’t. I’ll throw some more locks on him to be sure.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was a tense silence. Then, Jaydes sighed heavily. “She needs to stay up here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luvbi’s mouth twitched into a frown, but she managed to cover it by pretending to stretch and pull the blanket closer to her face. “Her heart doth be her own,” Grambi said. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Another sigh, then there was a shifting of heavy fabric as Jaydes stood from her seat. “At least stall her until I lock him back up,” she said. The queen gently stroked Luvbi’s hair as she passed by, then an ancient door creaked open to allow her outside.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Whatever locks and seals and wards Jaydes put into place did not stop Luvbi’s visions, and neither did taking shelter in her father’s kingdom - as another dream crept into her mind that very night. The same haunting hallways, the same chilling mist, and the eerie tinkling of a music box somewhere down the halls. Luvbi followed the trail of smoke as cautiously as she could make such a stupid decision, until she was startled again by a flash of gold in the darkness. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luvbi held the stare unwaveringly, pushing down the fright rising in her chest. “…Antasma?” she hesitantly called.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her small voice echoed in the silent hall, and gradually the darkness ahead seemed to waver and change shape. She blinked, and rubbed her eyes, then saw she could indeed make out a tall silhouette that she had not seen before. Something about the creature taking form gave her a bit of confidence, and she stepped forward, calling to him louder. “Thou art called Antasma, yea?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Antasma tilted his head curiously at her, but did not otherwise move or answer her. Luvbi frowned at him. “Thou dost reside in my mother’s kingdom. Thou stand in the presence of thine princess and </span>
  <em>
    <span>ruler</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Pray tell - why hast thou come to mine dreams to torment me?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A small glint of light caught Antasma’s fangs when he smiled at her. He turned away from her and glided further into the darkness - all the wisps of purple smoke curling after him. Luvbi startled a little at being ignored, and she couldn’t resist the impulse to chase after him. “Wait! Thou darest turn a deaf ear to me?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Antasma gave no indication that he even heard Luvbi, much less that he cared what she was trying to say. So Luvbi continued to follow him deeper into the twisting corridors of the ancient castle, until the two of them happened upon a small chamber. It looked like once, some time long ago, it had been a lavish bedroom. But now, all the furniture was overturned and broken and ruined. The floor-length mirror and the glass on the vanity were both shattered to millions of pieces. A terrible blackness was seeped into the carpet like an infection spreading through it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In the middle of the floor sat the Dark Prognosticus.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luvbi’s chest squeezed at the sight of it. She stared at the book, then she turned her anger to Antasma. “This is the object of thine desire? I </span>
  <em>
    <span>scoff </span>
  </em>
  <span>at thee. Thou art not alone nor original in thine scheme.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Antasma made a face at her and rolled his eyes in a way that looked like he was trying to laugh. But no sound came out of him or pierced the silence at all. Luvbi folded her arms over her chest and raised her chin like she often saw her mother do. “I command thee to speak, villain. Hast thou tormented me in search of yon book?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With another devious grin, Antasma casually took a seat on bed. He opened his mouth, and gestured with his claws around his throat. Then he curled his hand closed into a fist, and made a grimacing face as if he were choking on some invisible force.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luvbi blinked, then felt the confident bravado melt from her own expression as she realized what he was indicating. “Thou art sealed in mother’s keep…” she said softly. “Then, she hath already placed locks on thee.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Antasma nodded, returning to his usual demeanor. Jaydes magic had not entirely kept Antasma out of Luvbi’s mind, but whatever was keeping him locked in the castle had already made it incredibly difficult for him to even get this far in communicating with her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well… thine quest is fruitless anyway,” Luvbi informed him, trying to regain some of her authoritative demeanor. “Yon book doth be lost. None know where it lies.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Antasma raised a brow to her and grinned mischievously. He gestured to himself, pointed to his eye, then gestured down to the book.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luvbi scrunched her face up. She glanced between Antasma and the book on the floor. “Thine smug aura doth not befit thee,” she told him with a sneer. “Yon book of prophecy was lost years ago. I shall not fetch it for thee, for I know not where it hath been hidden.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Antasma tapped a claw to his own chest, then to the side of his head.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thou art a liar, and a poor one,” Luvbi decided.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Antasma made that face again, like the sound of laughter was trying to bubble up out of him and just could not get there. He gestured again between the book and his own eyes. When Luvbi continued to give him a very baffled look, he tried closing his clawed hands around each of his wrists. Then, instead, he placed his hands together in front of him and wrapped the end of his wispy tail around his wrists like a sort of binding.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luvbi’s brow went up as she took in a sharp breath. She forced out a bark of laughter. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Surely</span>
  </em>
  <span>… thou dost not expect me to believe… thou hast seen yon book in my mother’s castle keep?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Antasma grinned and nodded eagerly at her. Luvbi scoffed, and she shook her head in disbelief, but something made her edge slowly backwards from both Antasma and the book. “The book doth be </span>
  <em>
    <span>lost</span>
  </em>
  <span>…” she insisted. “If my mother knew to whence it had gone, she… wouldst not…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Antasma stood up swiftly, and it startled Luvbi backwards. She braced herself against the stony wall behind her, but when Antasma reached hardly three feet from her, he jolted suddenly as if he had been struck. He grasped at his own throat, looking pained, and as he retreated from her somewhat he gradually seemed to escape whatever invisible magic had ensnared him. After the fit had passed, Antasma regained himself and turned his wide eyes back to Luvbi. He knelt in front of her instead of approaching again, and pressed his hands together in a pleading sort of motion.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Art thou deaf?” Luvbi snapped. Her nails scraped against the wall behind her, and she flicked her wings irritably. “My mother wouldst keep no such wretched thing in her home! And</span>
  <em>
    <span> if</span>
  </em>
  <span> she hadst, pray tell, why wouldst I ever give it to thee?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Antasma shook his head, and spread his palms flat. It would probably be a gesture meant to indicate peace, or ask for mercy, if not for the sharp talons that accompanied it. He gestured back to the book again, then cupped his palms together and raised them towards her as a sort of offering. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He repeated the gesture, and Luvbi slowly shook her head. “Yea. I hath heard it calleth to new masters,” she said slowly. “Doth thou claim to hear the book calleth to </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Antasma nodded, then he placed both his hands over his throat again to mimic something choking him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It shouldst </span>
  <em>
    <span>remain</span>
  </em>
  <span> silent,” Luvbi snapped loudly. “I care not what yon book hath to say, and I care not what thou hath to say. Now, begone from my dreams! Or I shall have my mother eviscerate thine soul to be rid of thee!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luvbi startled herself awake with her own anger, and ended up tumbling from the couch to the floor in a desperate fit to throw the suffocating blanket off of herself. She was trembling so violently that it took her a moment of kneeling on the floor and gasping for breath before she could even consider getting back up. As she calmed herself, she glanced around the small room. The fireplace had gone cold and dark, but she could tell at least that her father seemed to have left her to sleep in peace. At least that saved her the trouble of calming him down as well. He worried for her so constantly, he would be a wreck to find her in this state.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Gradually the trembling stopped and her breathing returned to normal, but Luvbi’s heart would not stop racing and pounding in her chest. It felt like it was trying to burst out of her. Luvbi grit her teeth and pushed her fist to the center of her chest, muttering quietly “Be silent, you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It occurred to her, perhaps the pure heart within her had some natural flare up of its magic in response to a dark presence. That is, after all, what it was created to defend against. But, she quickly pushed the thought down and herself off the floor, and told herself it was natural for her heart to race when she was frightened. And there was no dark presence to have a reaction to, anyway, because it was, after all, only a dream. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But, the thought persisted, and lingered in Luvbi’s head almost constantly for every day of the following weeks. She had even reluctantly followed her father’s advice and kept close to him in his kingdom during that time, minding her distance from the unsavory darkness that plagued her mother’s domain. She did not see Antasma during that time - a sure sign that either her mother’s wards were working properly and he had at last been sealed completely away, or he had decided to heed Luvbi’s last warning. Still, sleep did not come as easily to her, and she found herself frustrated and restless most nights. She could not will herself to stop thinking about him. Or what he had said. Or the wretched book.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Eventually, Luvbi collected her nerves and descended the stairs to her mother’s kingdom. She slipped easily and effortlessly through the darkness of the stairs and the stray, feral creatures that made their hiding places within it. The d-men on guard allowed her past with hardly a glance in her direction. Likely they assumed Queen Jaydes knew her whereabouts, and was expecting her. The d-men within the castle gave her a little more trouble, upon finding her snooping around the back halls and locked doors. She snapped at them for standing in her way, feigning anger that she would not be allowed to wander her own home. With a well-placed threat to report their uselessness to her mother, they backed off and allowed her to go on her way.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The keep was two locked doors, a long descent down dark stairs, and another locked and magically sealed door to get into - none of which gave Luvbi much trouble. Perhaps the locks mistook her for her mother, or perhaps the magic yielded to the pure heart within her. Either way, she tried not to dwell on the thought as she carefully sealed the door back behind her. If the d-men got it into their heads to double check with Jaydes, then Luvbi was already working on increasingly limited time.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She had not spent much time in the keep, and only accompanied Jaydes into the place once or twice to seal away some broken and fragmented soul. It felt as dark and desolate as she had remembered it. The main room branched off into long, winding hallways, each lined with different sorts of large glass boxes. Most of them were framed with a variety of wards and spells. Some had additional wards carved directly into the glass, and some had been written on in ancient languages. Each box  was different in size, and most held something inside that resembled a small sort of ghost. Their forms were blurry and mostly indistinguishable, aside from varieties of heavy and complex chains that they wore. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luvbi recognized Dimentio - at least, what remained of him. He looked mostly like himself, namely in his mask and cloak, but most of his spectral form twisted into black, gnarled nonsense. Parts of him were such a foggy mess that without being attached to pieces of the former magician, it would have been completely unrecognizable as any sort of creature. It unnerved Luvbi to see almost as much as seeing Dimentio, so she carefully kept her distance from the chamber he was sleeping inside of and carried on down the halls. Likely, the book would be nowhere near his vicinity anyway.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Not that she was expecting to find the book here.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She was almost just as startled to happen upon Antasma, and despite hearing Jaydes confirm that his soul was being kept down here, she had to double check that she was not dreaming again. Antasma looked much more like himself - appearing almost entirely the same way he had appeared to her in her dreams - but his entrapment was also covered in significantly more wards. Antasma himself was wearing heavy chains that bound his arms across the front of his chest and then around his back, and some of his face was covered by a complex muzzle that also was engraved with more magical writing. He seemed more asleep, than just a corpse on display like Dimentio had felt. Luvbi found herself almost afraid she would startle him awake by stepping too close. But Antasma did not so much as flinch in the deep slumber the wards held him in.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As she wandered away from him, Luvbi felt her breath release. She wasn’t aware she had been holding it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luvbi tried to keep up a quick pace as she continued her search. Her wandering, really, because she wouldn’t admit that she was looking for something that she did not want to find down here. She tried not to linger by the unsettling images of souls so incomplete and fractured that they twisted and warped in their silent prisons. At least not every box held a soul within it. Some did contain strange artifacts that seemed equally dark and dangerous. Mostly a variety of beautiful gemstones that pulsed with a dark sort of energy, a star that was black as the night, a variety of weapons from different cultures and kingdoms.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With a familiar lurch deep in her chest, she spotted it. A black tome, embellished with bright gemstones and shimmering ink, rested on a pedestal in a glass case of its own.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was sealed, at least. That was something. At least, Luvbi tried to assure herself of that as she stared at the haunting book in horror. But, it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>here</span>
  </em>
  <span>. It could have been here all along, for all five years everyone had believed it to be missing. Her heart was racing, so much that it felt ready to burst right out of her chest, and her thoughts were racing just as fast. Luvbi allowed a trembling sigh to escape her, and she leaned her hands on the glass to keep herself from falling against it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The wards deactivated with a faint </span>
  <em>
    <span>woosh</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and the faint sound startled Luvbi back from the small container. Without her or the locks keeping it properly sealed, the front of the case swung open the smallest crack. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luvbi glanced at her hands, then up to the open case. Her fingers curled into tense fists, and she frowned at the book. “Thou mistakest my magic for my mother’s,” she reasoned aloud. “Or, perhaps, dost thou yield to the pure heart that doth beat within my breast?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Unsurprisingly, the book did not answer her, and it made Luvbi a little more aware how eerily silent the halls were. She hesitated uncertainly. Then, she slowly reached into the case and laid her hand on the leather cover. She wasn’t certain if she expected to feel a cold chill, or an electric shock, or even for the book to jump up and bite her, but nothing happened. It continued to lie on the pedestal in absolute stillness.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With a deeper frown, Luvbi picked up the book and turned it over in her hands. “Thou art… </span>
  <em>
    <span>quiet</span>
  </em>
  <span>… for a book of prophecy…” she mused. Again, there was no reply from the silent tome. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luvbi stared at the book for several minutes, her heart racing faster as anxiety gripped her. Everything in her protested, but she found her hands moving automatically, and with a nervous gulp of air, she opened the book.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was blank.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luvbi’s eyes scanned the page frantically, almost willing words to appear on it, or seeking some long-faded ink. Confused, she flipped the page. Then she turned another, and another, then she flipped quickly through several at once. Each was just as blank as the last, not a single word printed on any of them. Until, very suddenly, a flash of ink caught Luvbi’s eye. She gasped at it, and clumsily thumbed the pages back to investigate. It didn’t appear to be printed, it looked handwritten in a neat, plain script across the center of the page. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Is someone there?</span>
  </em>
  <span> it read.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luvbi blinked at the sentence dumbly for a few moments. “…is… is </span>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <span> how thou speakest, then?” Slowly, she recalled her anger, and found herself gripping the edges of the book a little too tightly. “Play not dumb, ye foul tome! Thou hast summoned the princess of the afterrealm. Why hast thou tormented my dreams to bringeth me here?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nothing about the page or the message on it moved or changed, much to Luvbi’s frustration. She thumbed through a few more pages, and eventually stumbled onto a new message.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>A princess?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luvbi scoffed loudly, not even bothering to offer a reply. She flipped furiously through more and more of the blank pages, until she stopped cold at the next message she could find.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Can you help me?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Help… help thee?” Luvbi read aloud, very dumbfounded. “Help </span>
  <em>
    <span>thee</span>
  </em>
  <span>? What hast thou done to deserve my help? Thine wretched and accursed prophecies bring naught but destruction and death upon all who hath lent thee an ear!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luvbi nearly threw the book down to the floor, sinking to her knees with it. She kept flipping pages so hastily had the book not been some level of enchanted, she might have torn a few out. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>None have listened. I have called out for years, and no one has answered.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That sentiment gave her pause. Luvbi sat back from the book and nervously tucked a strand of hair out of her face. “Thou shalt not deceive me,” she said in a somewhat softer tone. “I know this book’s dark tale. Thousands have followed thine instruction, and thy prophecies have wrought death across every dimension it hath been passed through. Doth thou still claim none hath heard thee?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I have gathered my prison seems to change. Everyone who opens the book sees something different. Mostly, it seems to be the horrors I have witnessed, and they continue to repeat around me. But it is never my voice that breaks the surface. Not until now.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luvbi slammed the book cover shut, and all at once realized how erratic her breath had become. She glanced around the long, dark hallway - expecting someone to have come looking for her by now, or something sinister to have crawled out of its cage to sneak up on her. But the unsettling stillness was unbroken, and the only sound in the room was Luvbi’s raspy breath and the frantic pounding of her heart. Her eyes settled on the book again, and she found herself staring vacantly at the way her reflection twisted on the rounded gemstones on the cover. “…who art thou?” she whispered. She waited, held her breath, and opened the book again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>A prince.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luvbi’s heart skipped a beat, and she felt something twist in her chest. She stared at the page for several minutes, and even reached out to run her fingers over the delicate lines. It felt wet, as if it had only just been written, and it even left a black smear on her fingertip, but the letters were not disturbed by her touch whatsoever. She turned the page again, and found an elaboration.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I bound myself to this book, to save my soul from destruction. When I fell into the hands of the queen of the dead, I thought that she would save me.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luvbi’s heart sank before she turned the page.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>She did not.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Surely mother… could not reverse thine curse…” Luvbi reasoned. Her voice began to falter, and she anxiously rubbed her ink-stained fingers along the page as she thought. “Perhaps now, she doth seek some way to save thee?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>She never tried. I have felt no magic touch except wards that bind me. The ruffians and oracles and monarchies that have quarreled over this book were more lenient than the last time she caged me.</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luvbi squinted at the book, murmuring a small “Last time?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Now that I have fallen again into her grasp, I </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>know</em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span> she means nothing but to </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>imprison me</em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span>.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luvbi again swiped her thumb across the letters, and found that significantly more ink rubbed off on her hand - enough to drip down towards her wrist. This time, the words on the paper did smear, and she found herself frantically turning the page in fear that she had somehow tarnished the message.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Princess, please, I beg of you. If you can hear me, perhaps your magic is the same as hers. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then, I shall… I shall take thee to mother,” Luvbi said. She wrung her hands anxiously, ignoring that it spread the ink across both her hands. “I shall explain thy plight in proper, and - and if she doth still refuse thine salvation, then I shall take thee to my father’s care.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>
    <em>NO</em>
  </b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>One word was scrawled hastily across the page, ink so wet it left a reflected impression on the opposite page. Like someone had written it previously and then closed the book too soon. Luvbi tried to flip past it, and grew significantly concerned that more ink squelched out of the closed pages to drip down onto the floor. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Do not hand me to her, princess, please, you will have only assured my </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>death</em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span>.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luvbi clutched a hand to her chest as she struggled to breathe, staining herself with more of the ink on her fingers. The book felt different under her hands now. No more alive, but she felt somehow magnetically drawn to it. She couldn’t quite tear her other hand away from the page, and it felt automatic and helpless the way that she turned the next page.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>If your magic is hers, you can heal me. I beg you, princess. Do not leave me here to die in her prison.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luvbi’s faltering breath stuttered as she choked. She tried to blink the stinging sensation out of her eyes and willed herself not to cry. Surely this creature was incorrect. Her mother was a guardian and shepherd of souls, and she would never neglect and torment one in such desperate need this way. Yet, Luvbi found herself more and more sympathetic to it’s fear of being locked away again. She recalled the prison that held Antasma, how even within the realm of dreams the wards had cut off his voice and restrained him from her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She grimaced as her mind wandered back to the vision Antasma had shown her. He had insisted he had not wanted the book. Perhaps he knew this soul that was trapped within it. Perhaps he had tried giving it a voice when he could not even speak himself. And if that was all it took for Antasma to reach Luvbi with as faltering and fleeting a message as he did, who was to say the sort of tormented isolation this soul had endured within the prognosticus?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luvbi focused on breathing evenly, and she laid her palms flat on each of the open pages. More ink smeared onto her fingers, almost in a way that it seemed to drip up off of the page and crawl towards the back of her hands. Luvbi shut her eyes to block out the image and focused deep in her core. The pure heart fluttered in protest, like a butterfly trapped in a glass jar, but eventually she managed to push past it blocking her and channel magic from herself and into the book. She pushed aside the thought of a book lying on the floor, and envisioned the soul that was trapped within it. Lost and small and probably damaged, reaching out to her for help. She focused very precisely on the tug of it reaching towards her, and she tried to reach back and lend it her hand.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Something grabbed her, and Luvbi startled backwards from the book with a frightened shriek. She managed to twist her arm out of the gnarled, black mess, and with a flailing sort of motion she fell back against a different containment box. The ink on her arm remained a still stain, but where it had spilled to the floor it continued to run across the uneven stones and spread out in a dark puddle. Then it bubbled up off the ground like it was something solid instead, and it twisted and writhed in form until it became something like a hand.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>An arm followed it out, and then a shoulder rose out of the book itself - its pages now soaked through with wet blackness. Another arm clawed its way into existence, and a tall, lanky figure struggled to clumsily pull itself up out of the book. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luvbi struggled to get up, a panicked scream fighting to escape her throat but unable to find audible release. The creature was already larger than her, and growing still as it slithered out of the blackness and dragged itself across the ground. With a wet popping sound, the ink of its head sliced open in a grotesque shape of a mouth, and the creature shuddered with a deep and noisy gulp of air.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At last, Luvbi managed to scream at the horrifying sight. Its head rolled towards the sound, and another slit cut through and popped open into a glowing, bright white eye. Its mouth curled into a haunting grin, and before Luvbi could even begin to throw herself out of the way, the thing was crawling towards her at an alarming speed. It wasn’t spilled ink that splashed onto her tail - it felt more like one of the underhands had escaped the river and grabbed onto her. It was real and solid and icy cold, and it was much stronger than it appeared to be when it dragged her back towards the creature. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As its long limbs pinned her to the floor, Luvbi watched the whole mass writhe and shift and gradually take on shape. The ink dripping down onto her face slowly became a swath of hair, and its mouth twisted to the shape of long, sharp teeth. A hand grabbed her throat firmly to choke her into silence, and as soon as she realized it had become a firm and solid hand, it became dangerous claws that punctured her skin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luvbi struggled to wriggle out of its grasp as another cry for help lodged under its hand around her neck. The creature grinned down at her. It drew back its opposite hand over its head, and in one swift blow its claws came down hard.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Dead Letters is the name of the album by The Rasmus that inspired the very first iteration of this concept years and years and years ago.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. In Case God Doesn't Show</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>By the time word made its way to Queen Jaydes about where Luvbi was it was already entirely too late. The scene that she stumbled upon was something out of her worst nightmares. A tall, black, monstrous silhouette stood in the hall beside the empty case of the dark prognosticus. Black and gold were splattered all across the floor, creating a puddle that the intruder seemed to rise up out of. Luvbi was caught by the throat in one clawed hand, and her body hung limp like a rag doll.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Unhand her,” Jaydes snarled immediately.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The creature turned to her - bright eye and wide grin almost glowing in the dripping ink. “Oh, Jaydes,” it purred in a voice too smooth and silky for the mangled sort of form it still held. It tilted its head, and teased “You don’t look happy to see me.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A few of the d-men flanking the queen readied their weapons. She spread a hand to steady them, and told the intruder “Release my daughter this instant. I will not ask you again.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Its eye widened, and its grin curled almost into a sneer. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Daughter</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” it repeated. “Is that what you call this thing?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Jaydes’ lip curled into a snarl. She took a single stride closer to the creature and leered down at it. “You should not be here,” she threatened. “How did you get out?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It laughed at her, and tossed the dark prognosticus to the floor at her feet, allowing it to flop open. The pages were wet and sticky and dripping with more of the black ink, but no legible writing was anywhere on the otherwise blank pages. “Your pure heart came to my aid,” it explained cheerily. “She granted me her own strength to escape my vessel. I wonder where she learned such mercy? Surely not from </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The creature picked Luvbi up off the floor and cradled her shoulders against one arm. Its long claws moved bloody hair away from her face, and she whimpered at the unwelcome touch, but did not quite manage to regain consciousness.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Abscuro</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Jaydes barked - and the creature jolted at his name. She advanced angrily towards him again. “I cannot give you what you asked of me. Your kingdom brought extinction upon itself when it called the Chaos Heart into being. Your destruction cannot be reversed.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Abscuro tilted his head and swayed gently backwards from the queen, carrying Luvbi with him. As he moved, his form slowly grew more solid, like the slender body of a young man that dissolved into a wispy tail, which tethered him to the ground. The ink gradually dripped off of him, and left him like a dense fog of shadow floating in the room. “But, you </span>
  <em>
    <span>can</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” he argued, eye narrowing coldly as the ink around it settled into long, curly eyelashes. “You did it for her. Why, she wasn’t ever real - she’s only a figment that you’ve breathed life into for the sake of your selfish ego.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Jaydes sucked a sharp breath in through her sharper teeth. “I owe you no explanation,” she growled. “If you return her to me now, I am still willing to show you mercy. My d-men will escort you to the rift, and I will allow you to return to your kingdom.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Abscuro laughed aloud at that. It was a sharp, ugly sound that tore out of him. He tightened his grasp on Luvbi until his claws dug bleeding marks into her shoulder and she winced in pain. “Is that your idea of </span>
  <em>
    <span>mercy</span>
  </em>
  <span>? To throw me back to the void's mouth and forget me again?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“There is no place for you or your kind in this world, Abscuro,” Jaydes said firmly. “Your mother had already clawed her way into this world, and she was promptly destroyed. There was no soul of hers I could salvage. Return home while you are still whole enough to do so.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Abscuro flinched, and his face twisted a little. As Jaydes spoke, the blackness slowly dripped off of his hair, leaving it a pale lilac color that fell in waves around his shoulders. It sparkled in the darkness, and more flecks of light spread across his face and the tips of his pointed ears. Eventually, he hardened his expression and decided “Good riddance.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Jaydes chanced another slow, deliberate step towards him and extended both her hands. “I cannot help you, Abscuro. Do not make this worse than it is.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Abscuro drew backwards again, clutching Luvbi against his chest. She started to squirm with a moan of pain, prompting Abscuro to latch one arm around her throat to stifle the sound. His expression contorted to anger, and he snapped “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Fine</span>
  </em>
  <span>! I don’t need you! Your precious princess will heal me, then.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Abscuro sunk his claws into Luvbi’s side, and she let out a garbled shriek when he tore a deep, bleeding gash into her. The nimbi’s chest glowed a soft white as she trembled and writhed against him. Her hands moved sluggishly and automatically in a vain attempt to push Abscuro away as he pressed his face into the crook of her bleeding neck. A small shiver passed through him as he clutched her close with a satisfied sigh. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Stop it!” Jaydes screamed, her voice cracking. “Release her! She’s done nothing to earn this!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Gradually, the dim light faded, leaving Luvbi shaking and gasping for breath - a bit of gold blood dripping from her mouth. As Abscuro straightened back up, his form took on more vibrant colors than it had before, and a few tiny blue rose buds peeked their way out of his hair. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>You</span>
  </em>
  <span> have done plenty to earn my wrath,” he told the queen calmly. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“M- </span>
  <em>
    <span>mother</span>
  </em>
  <span>…” Luvbi managed in a feeble voice. Her dark eyes fluttered open for a moment, and her head lolled absently.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Shh, be still, my princess,” Abscuro whispered softly. With a small laugh, he tilted her face and kissed the blood off her lips - causing Luvbi to whine and gasp when her chest seized violently as another small surge of light overtook her. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Stop! </span>
  <em>
    <span>Fine</span>
  </em>
  <span>!” Jaydes shouted. Genuine fear began to creep into her eyes as she watched Luvbi once again fall completely limp in Abscuro’s arms. “I will heal you if you will relinquish my daughter to me.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Abscuro tilted his head up defiantly. “And allow me to go freely?” he pressed. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You are in no position to be bargaining,” she seethed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Abscuro chuckled. “Oh, I think quite the opposite! I have nothing left to lose, my dear. You, on the other hand, stand to lose everything.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Jaydes said nothing, trembling in rage as her worried eyes flicked between her daughter and the monster that held her bleeding body. The smallest whimper escaped Luvbi’s lips, and that was enough. “Agreed,” she snapped. “You will be healed and allowed to leave this realm. Hand her to me now.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you take me for a fool, Jaydes?” Abscuro mocked with a sly grin. “I won’t hand over my only protection so you may sic your dogs on me.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Jaydes considered that carefully, then with a sweep of her arm she drove the d-men behind her back a few steps. There were a few mutters of concerned protest as the four of them hesitantly lowered their weapons, so Jaydes growled “Begone. Obey your master.” The group scurried backwards fearfully from her, but two of them craned their heads around the corner to continue watching with wide eyes.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Abscuro watched them go with a tight frown, then glanced over his shoulder to the other end of the long hallway, as if expecting the guards to appear behind him. He didn’t say as much, but he did stubbornly squeeze Luvbi close again. Jaydes reached out once more and demanded “Give her to me, Abscuro.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Heal me first,” he insisted. “I know that I am overpowered and outnumbered. We have only been conversing this long because you are more sentimental than you are cruel.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Jaydes tensed at the accusation, her clawed hands curling into tight fists. She breathed a frustrated sigh, then turned to hiss over her shoulder “Drop your weapons.” The d-men gave her less protest this time, each flinging some sort of gun towards her feet so the weapons skittered noisily across the stone floor. Abscuro relaxed a little at the gesture, but just as quickly tensed again when Jaydes walked slowly closer to him. She raised her hands peacefully and soothed him, “No one here will harm you. Allow me to do as you’ve asked, then you may leave Luvbi with me and depart from this place.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Abscuro’s eye narrowed uncertainly, and a weak cry slipped from Luvbi’s lips as he squeezed her closer by the throat. “Don’t try anything,” he warned darkly with an anxious edge to his voice. “She’ll bleed out a lot faster than I will.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Jaydes’ expression flinched, but she remained collected and nodded her head. She took a few more steps, finally closing the distance between them. Jaydes was well accustomed to towering over her servants and most of the denizens of her realm, but the top of Abscuro’s head almost reached her chin. The temptation to simply snatch Luvbi out of his arms was overwhelming. But, Abscuro’s claws were still lodged in her throat, and any attempt to grab Luvbi would likely only injure her further. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Moving slowly, so as not to startle him, Jaydes reached out and rested her hands on Abscuro’s head. He flinched visibly at the touch, eliciting a small cry from Luvbi as he tightened his grasp on her, but he did remain still and allow her to work. She allowed healing and life-giving magic to flow out of her and into the weak creature, noting the vibrant colors and glittering flecks of light that pulsed over him as his form shifted closer to its original state. The little buds peeking out of his hair grew larger and began to open up into soft blooms. Abscuro’s head even bowed a bit, his eye fluttering closed as he breathed deeply and enjoyed the faint pulses of rejuvenation. Then, he laughed softly to himself, and murmured “You’re holding back from me.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Before she could even open her mouth to retort, Jaydes was thrown violently backwards and sent crashing into nearby glass boxes. A shadowy vine was the offending attacker - one that had slithered up from the darkness pooling beneath Abscuro, and once more fell hard on Jaydes like a sharp whip. The second hit actually broke the box behind her, allowing her body to fall onto the floor among loose relics and glittering shrapnel. The d-men on guard rushed forward to defend her, but another pair of vines unfurled from the shadows and snatched their weapons off the ground before any of them could get close - leaving them staring baffled and stunned.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Jaydes struggled to push herself up onto her arms, and realized that she was bleeding badly where the vine had struck her. That should not have been possible. She realized suddenly why - the pink and black crown that had been knocked from her head and clattered to the floor, rolling just out of arm’s reach.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Abscuro’s attention snapped away from the d-men and back to her, and in a flash of eye contact he saw the panic cross her face. Jaydes tried to lunge for her crown, but with strength and magic already bleeding out of her, Abscuro was infinitely faster. He tossed Luvbi into a cradle of vines that sprung up to catch her, and snatched the crown up for himself. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Abscuro placed the crown on his own head, and the moment it settled into place, a bright wave of white magic swept off of him that sent a powerful gust all the way down the narrow hall. The blast flung Jaydes and all her d-men backwards down the hall, and shattered every glass case along its path - allowing wisps of fragmented souls to drift up and out of the ceiling, and powerful artifacts to clatter noisily onto the floor. The life-renewing magic flowed vibrant purple hues into Abscuro’s shimmering hair, and a whole ring of giant blue and violet roses bloomed around the base of the crown. Silver thorns grew down his arms and along the tips of his fingers like claws, and the shadow tendrils beneath him grew in size and number, and gradually became black vines blooming smaller roses of their own.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The d-men got to their feet much more quickly than Jaydes did, and rushed towards Abscuro to stand between him and their queen. With a wicked grin and a quick twist, Abscuro’s vines whipped out towards them again. Sharp thorns prickling along the vines tore the nearest d-man into a shrieking, bloody mess when they slashed across him, and the impact threw his corpse hard enough into the other three that they all tumbled in a dazed heap to the feet of their fallen master.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Jaydes growled angrily. A black magic began to crackle at her fingertips, and she pointed her hand at Abscuro menacingly before firing a loud spark of darkness over the d-men’s heads directly at him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Abscuro flinched and reflexively covered his face with his arms, but his vines sprang up from the ground in a criss-crossing wall, and Jaydes magic did no more than rebound off of the makeshift shield. With an enraged shriek, she swept another, much more erratic blast in his direction. It did a lot more damage to the walls than it did to the vines, and the third strike rebounded all the way down the hall with its damage. Still, Abscuro’s vines cut through it like water and he hardly recoiled at the impact.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He cackled in delight, vines receding back into the ground as the onslaught stopped. Jaydes was breathing heavily, her hands trembling. “Tired already?” Abscuro teased her. “Such a shame…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Several vines flung in Jaydes’ direction and stabbed straight through her like spears, lifting her off the ground and cutting a ghastly wail from the fallen queen. As the vines retreated, Jaydes collapsed forward onto her face, and after a moment of struggling, found herself unable to get herself back up off the ground. Abscuro laughed quietly to himself. “Oh, if only I had known this would be so easy,” he mused. He turned his back on her then and scooped Luvbi up into his arms to carry her like a bride. “Whatever did you keep me waiting so long for, my darling? What an incredible force we are together.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Let her go… please…” Jaydes begged, her voice strained and garbled as she choked on black blood. “Abscuro, I beg you, don’t hurt her…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I wouldn’t dream of it. We are going to build such a beautiful, vibrant kingdom together.” As Abscuro spoke, Luvbi stirred again, wincing in pain and struggling to squirm out of his grasp. She mumbled weakly for her mother again, but Abscuro ignored the feeble protest and squeezed her closer to him. “This is where it was meant to begin. With a pure-hearted princess, and a monster king.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>With that, Abscuro dipped Luvbi back and kissed her again, and the whole room went white. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Vines and roses erupted from the ground in such a violent explosion that they tore through and broke down the castle walls until the overgrowth was nearly the only thing holding the enormous building together. The whole castle was pushed further aboveground on a haphazard pedestal of gnarled tree roots, and terrified spirits and shaydes and d-men fled quickly from the castle grounds and the surrounding area. With a crack of white thunder and howling wind, the storm clouds hanging overhead parted to reveal a dark sky growing even darker. Lightning flashes illuminated streams of a violet magical current, but beyond that it was the darkest abyss one could ever imagine.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Somewhere deep within the castle keep, ancient locks and wards broke apart from a more ancient door. The dimensional rift sealed inside the tiny hidden room stretched and tore its way through the fabric of reality until the door and room and walls around it crumbled within its gaping maw. It ceased to be a forgotten tear left unstitched, and became an entirely unobstructed gateway. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>More shadowy creatures like Abscuro crossed through it - a few hesitantly brave souls at first, and then more eager and excitable masses, and then flooding waves of inklings rushed through the rift into the bowels of Jaydes’ castle ruins. Their confusion quickly became thrilled hysteria as individuals and then groups pieced together what was happening. The rift had been broken - they were free. Something had lifted their curse - they were alive. And they had a leader once more - </span>
  <em>
    <span>the prince had returned.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As the swarms of inklings found their way to Abscuro, he sent them in droves in random directions. Capturing the fragmented souls still caught in wards before they were able to escape. Rounding up the d-men who would serve them, and eliminating those who would not. Scouring the kingdom beyond in search of more powerful souls and magic that could be gathered. Learning the castle and grounds, setting up guards, fortifying their new home. Establishing chains of command - from Abscuro directly, to the small counsel of advisors who had ruled in the absence of royalty, to each of their own variety of forces.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A few d-men managed to sound the alarm and send word to those out on the field that the castle had fallen. Desperate to spare the panicking souls from capture or worse, the gates were opened - both the stairs that lead up above, and the passages into the worlds of the living. Large numbers of souls managed to successfully escape the carnage, but larger numbers of inklings pursued them tirelessly, and did not relent in their chase.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It only took a matter of hours for Jaydes’ kingdom to fall entirely and completely under inkling rule. Hers would be the first of many.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The castle that Luvbi finally awoke in was not at all her mother’s. She recognized the throne room that she found herself sitting in, but even through blurry vision and a shrieking headache, she could make out the overgrown jungle that had nearly reduced the castle walls to ruins. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As she slowly took in the scene, and the strange, wispy shadows that paced busily in and out of the room, Luvbi managed to spot Jaydes in the crowd. She was on her knees before Abscuro, and two of the inklings held her there with rope bindings and long spears at her back that crackled with dangerous energy. Luvbi cried out in horror and tried to dart towards her, and nearly tore her shoulder out of joint as her wrists caught painfully. A heavy shackle on each wrist bound her to the arms of the  throne she was sitting on with heavy chains, and Luvbi found herself unable to do much more than twist her arms and slightly lean forward.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The clanging chains alerted most of the room that she was awake, and with a bright smile Abscuro turned from Jaydes and made his way over to her. Jaydes called after him, her voice sounding desperate, but the noise in the room all sounded muffled and distorted like Luvbi was several feet underwater. Abscuro drifted up the few short steps, and Luvbi stared up at the shadow that was more than twice her total size in absolute horror. He leaned down and placed a delicate claw under her chin. “Welcome back, my princess,” he said kindly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Luvbi jerked her head out of his grasp defiantly. “Thou shalt not speak in so familiar a tone, wretched villain,” she snapped. Her chest shook, as the burst of energy almost overwhelmed her, but she dug her nails into the stone arms of the throne and willed herself to focus. “Thou hath deceived me. Thou art most vile and foul.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Abscuro only smiled at her with a small laugh. “Aren’t you precious,” he said softly. With deliberate slowness, he reached behind her head, and despite her thrashing and protesting, he sliced through the ribbon in her hair and helped coax her neat bun into gentle waves of curls around her shoulders. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Luvbi cried out in anger, the chains clanking stubbornly again as she tried to writhe away from him, and only succeeded in slinging her hair messily across her face. “How </span>
  <em>
    <span>dare </span>
  </em>
  <span>thou lay thine hand on me!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Abscuro, leave her!” Jaydes shouted from the court floor. Abscuro made an annoyed face at the sound of her voice. “This kingdom isn’t her home, she doesn’t know anything about my castle!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Abscuro straightened up just slightly, and called over his shoulder “Find a nice spot for her in the keep.” Jaydes and Luvbi both started frantically protesting, and Abscuro shoved his hand over Luvbi’s mouth to muffle the sound of her screaming before he continued. “I don’t think we’re finished with her just yet, but she’s beginning to wear on my nerves.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The inklings bowed and affirmed “Yes, your majesty!” before they hauled Jaydes to her feet and forced her out of the room with painful jabs from the magic spears. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Luvbi kept screaming after her mother, the sound caught almost completely in the palm of Abscuro’s hand. He turned back to her with a somewhat colder smile, and his claws dug painfully into the sides of her face when he leaned close again. “Now, my dear. Your mother, I think, has been hiding something from me. Something of </span>
  <em>
    <span>mine</span>
  </em>
  <span> - and I would like it back. You’ll help me find it, won’t you?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Luvbi mumbled a weak protest and tried to shake her head, but Abscuro’s hand squeezed into her jaw and he forced her head to nod up and down. “There’s a good girl,” he sarcastically praised. “I’ll bet your memory is better than she says it is…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Abscuro forced her head to the side, and Luvbi braced herself like she was expecting him to hit her. She wished it had been something that stupid when she saw what he was showing her. Her eyes went wide, and her heart lurched painfully like it was going to burst right out of her chest. It might have been trying to. She was looking at the Chaos Heart - floating just two feet from her throne and dripping black slime onto the floor. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Luvbi choked out a horrified sound and struggled against her chains again. “I know, I know, darling - so tragic to see her this way,” Abscuro said, his voice dripping in mock sympathy. His free hand reached out and gently combed through Luvbi’s hair to pull it out of her face, his dangerous claws scraping along her scalp as he did. “She was so powerful and wicked. Now, look at her - only fractured pieces. Hardly a shell of what she was.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Luvbi could not say with certainty if the gray core of the Chaos Heart had always looked like some dog had chewed it to shreds and lost several large pieces along the way. She did not recall the only time that she had ever been this close to it - when it had last been called to end all worlds. But something besides the missing gray cracks, something besides the dullness to the dripping, black aura made the whole thing feel very </span>
  <em>
    <span>wrong</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Not wrong as an artifact of death and destruction should be expected to feel, but wrong in a way that made it feel more physically and functionally incorrect.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Abscuro’s hand slipped from Luvbi’s mouth to cradle her cheek and turn her head back towards him. “Where has she gone, darling?” he asked sweetly. Abscuro leaned closer until he was leering over her, and Luvbi strained her shoulders to slump lower down in the throne to edge away from him. “She came to us when we called, but to be broken this way? You couldn’t have </span>
  <em>
    <span>done</span>
  </em>
  <span> something to my precious heart - </span>
  <em>
    <span>could</span>
  </em>
  <span> you?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Luvbi shivered as she fumbled for an answer, suddenly very aware of the silent threat. “I, ah - nay, I hath n-no control of yon heart!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Where’s the rest of her?” Abscuro demanded. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He twisted his fingers hard in Luvbi’s hair and yanked her back upright by a fistful of it. Luvbi cried out at the pain, and her hands automatically strained against her chains in a vain attempt to reach up and stop him. “Ah- </span>
  <em>
    <span>Aah</span>
  </em>
  <span>! I know not! I h-had thought yon heart was destroyed!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Abscuro frowned, clearly unsatisfied with that answer. “Where is Dimentio’s soul?” Luvbi jolted at the name, and her eyes flicked uncertainly over Abscuro’s face, trying to decipher what he meant by that. Abscuro grabbed her face with both hands to pull her up towards him, and repeated “Dimentio’s soul - where is it being kept? He was the last one who controlled her. Surely he died if he left her this way.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Luvbi’s eyes flicked around again, and she managed “He - he doth rest in yon castle keep.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Try again, darling,” Abscuro sneered. “Don’t waste your precious breath lying to me.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Nay, I speaketh only truth!” Luvbi insisted. “I hath seen him myself - he doth lie within a seal in yon castle keep!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Abscuro straightened up abruptly, jerking Luvbi’s head a little as he whipped around without relinquishing his grasp on her. The small group of inklings and smaller group of d-men gathered around the throne room startled back from the sudden look. He stared at them all expectantly, then one d-men shoved another forward, and that one hesitantly spoke up. “Uhhh… lotta the keep got turned loose when you took the crown. Uh, yer majesty.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So he isn’t here,” Abscuro guessed, his eye narrowing angrily. “And you lot told me that he was.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, he </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” the d-man agreed. “Record shows him in the keep. What was left of him.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Abscuro’s grasp slowly slackened on Luvbi. “…</span>
  <em>
    <span>but</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He isn’t there</span>
  <em>
    <span> now</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Nah, not anymore,” the d-man supplied with a shrug. “Ye woke up a bunch of the fragments. He might’ve bolted with the rest of ‘em.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Abscuro stared down at the d-man with nothing short of an incredulous look. After a moment, he shifted his weary gaze to the nearest inkling - a curvy one with cropped pink hair. She immediately bowed her head and said “I’ll organize the scouts to go searching for him, your majesty. If our mages can properly trace the energy trails, we can narrow down which gate he slipped through and begin there.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Thank you</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Lyrinn,” Abscuro said with a wide smile in an exasperated sort of way. “That would be </span>
  <em>
    <span>exceptionally</span>
  </em>
  <span> helpful.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Lyrinn bowed again with a curt “yes, your majesty” and drifted quickly away, signaling two of the other inklings to follow her out with a wave of her hand. Abscuro spared the particularly unhelpful d-man another scathing glare, then turned his attention back to Luvbi. She found the defiance in herself to narrow her eyes coldly at him, and he chuckled a little at the face. “Oh, darling, don’t look so upset. It doesn’t suit your face.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I doth not be thine </span>
  <em>
    <span>darling</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Luvbi snapped, her hands curling into fists.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Abscuro leaned down again, resting his hands near hers on the throne so that he could be closer to eye level with her. “Why fuss so much, my dear? Look at this place - look what we’ve made together! Your gift made this all possible.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He gently pet her cheek with the back of his hand, and Luvbi flinched away from him again with an irritated shrug. “Thou art most cruel. I wanted to </span>
  <em>
    <span>help</span>
  </em>
  <span> thee.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“And you </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Darling, I owe you so much gratitude,” Abscuro told her softly. He tucked her hair back, then gently ran his hands over her shoulders. One hand traveled a little lower, and his claws just barely brushed across her chest. “Perhaps, with time, I can return the favor? I had no idea you were only a fragment. And with this much power… imagine what you’d be capable of once we piece you back together as well. Both of the hearts restored and </span>
  <em>
    <span>mine</span>
  </em>
  <span>…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Luvbi grimaced and tried to press her back more firmly against the throne without putting more strain on her cramped wings. “I am </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> the pure heart,” she announced firmly. “I doth be the vessel which carries it </span>
  <em>
    <span>only</span>
  </em>
  <span>. My name doth be </span>
  <em>
    <span>Luvbi</span>
  </em>
  <span> - and my heart and my soul art my </span>
  <em>
    <span>own</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Abscuro kept smiling down at her, tracing an idle pattern on her chest with his claw like he hadn’t heard her speak up. Then, he shifted his hands onto her arms and leaned over to box her in - and even when Luvbi felt the throne at the back of her head, he was almost nose to nose with her. “Let me be clear, princess,” he seethed in a quiet voice. “You are safe only as long as you are </span>
  <em>
    <span>useful</span>
  </em>
  <span> to me. I wouldn’t suggest you start bragging about how worthless you actually are.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Luvbi’s chest shuddered with a soft gasp, and under his cold gaze she couldn’t quite form a coherent response. She stuttered a little, and Abscuro rested a single claw against her lips, and told her “If all you’re good for is holding the heart for me, then be a good girl, sit still, and keep your fucking mouth shut.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He held her stare firmly until Luvbi’s lip trembled, and she had to bite down the sudden urge to cry. Abscuro seemed satisfied enough with that response. He finally straightened up and drifted away from her, claws scratching feather-light under her jaw as he went. The growing crowd of inklings eagerly clamoring for his attention almost swallowed him up, and it was only his towering height and the bright roses that distinguished him amongst them. Luvbi tried to focus, tried to glean some sense of what was happening from them, but all their talking faded so quickly to white noise ringing in her ears. Exhausted, she finally gave up and settled back against the throne, allowing her messy hair to fall into her face again. She hoped, at least, it would shield her somewhat if a few silent tears slipped down her cheeks.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>"I'm gonna make you bend and break<br/>Say a prayer, and let the good times roll<br/>In Case God Doesn't Show</p>
<p>And I want these words to make things right<br/>But it's the wrongs that make the words come to life<br/>Who does he think he is?<br/>If this is the worst you've got, better put your fingers back to the key"</p>
<p>-thks fr th mmrs, Fallout Boy</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Lips are the Gun</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>With the gates open and unguarded, wave after wave of souls flooded into the world of the living. Souls that had lingered in and around the castle found themselves able to flee further and further from the grasp of the afterrealm - restored to flesh and blood again by the power of Abscuro's crowning, and no longer barred from the world of the living. Still, the inklings remained too close behind, and most of the souls that managed to avoid being overpowered and dragged back to the gates only succeeded in luring the inklings closer to nearby cities and strongholds where they fled for nonexistent safety. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio was one of the fortunate few to successfully slip beyond the inklings' grasp. Teleporting even a relatively short range was almost enough to wipe him out, but it did provide a decent head start in scrambling for a hiding place. He avoided the massive city walls looming in the distance, and instead ran to where the cold and dark jungle he had escaped gave way to vibrant, lush, living woods. Sure enough, initial waves of inklings pursued the masses in the opposite direction, and the struggle they found against city defenders and panicking citizens was enough to buy a few precious minutes of distraction.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio was not the only soul with the idea to break from the flow, however. Few others splintered off down random paths, and individual inklings combed the underbrush seeking them out. Dimentio was incredibly fortunate that it was not one of the inklings who finally discovered and caught up to him - but he was so obsessively watching for the lurking black shadows that being pounced on by a human took him entirely by surprise. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio rolled head over heels when he hit the ground, failing to dislodge his attacker with any amount of struggling. He only stilled when a firm hand around the collar of his cloak struck his head against the hard dirt. Dimentio grabbed for the offending arm, but his hands faltered when he looked up. “…Luigi?” he gasped out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His question was answered with the barrel of a pistol pressed to the center of his forehead and a gruff “Guess again, fucker.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio laughed, despite himself, and a baffled grin curled across his face. “Mr. L…” he realized. “What a… </span>
  <em>
    <span>lovely</span>
  </em>
  <span> surprise.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L seemed far from delighted to run into Dimentio, if the snarl on his face and burning rage in his eyes was any sort of indication. “The fuck are you doing here?” he snapped.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio’s mismatched eyes flicked over L - straddling his hips and holding him down on the ground. “…presently? I would wager being threatened.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know what I mean!” L shouted. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Here</span>
  </em>
  <span>, how did you get </span>
  <em>
    <span>here</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio laughed again, and he warily eyed the gun against his head. “L, I know you fancy me a mastermind - correctly, in most cases - but I am as clueless in this instance as you are.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You don’t know what’s going on,” L threatened, more than asked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That is another way to rephrase what I just said, yes,” Dimentio said. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L cocked the hammer and pushed the gun a little more firmly against Dimentio’s head. “Give me a reason I shouldn’t kill you, then. Answers are usually all you’re good for.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio let out a nervous chuckle, and he held up his hands to either side of his head in a peaceful sort of gesture. “L, I must request that - at least this once - you think before you act. We are dead, are we not? Would you even be able to kill me?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can fuckin’ try,” he snarled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fair enough,” Dimentio laughed. “And where would I go? Hell has been upended like an overturned fruit basket. Which is, I assume, how you have made your grand escape? Just the same as myself, and all the rest of these frantic, wayward souls.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L frowned, and narrowed his eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio glanced over him again, and his smile faltered a bit. “Ah… then, how, exactly, are </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> here? Surely you did not… survive our last encounter?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m not playing twenty questions with you!” L shouted. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah, then, this is a regular, non-game variety of interrogation. Forgive my mistake - you have been so lenient with me thus far.” Dimentio grinned mischievously, and he reached up slowly to place a finger against the side of the gun and tilt it away from his face. “Is this toy even loaded?” he teased.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L leaned back a bit and fired into the ground. He missed Dimentio’s head by a solid foot, but the magician still yelped in surprise and flinched dramatically away from it, one arm flung over his head. L grabbed his arm to pull it out of the way and pointed the gun back between Dimentio’s eyes. “Those shadow freaks pouring out of Jaydes’ castle are lookin’ for you. You wanna start talking now?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio grimaced and tried to rub his shoulder against his ear to soothe the loud ringing leftover from the gunshot. “Someone might have heard -”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, is that a problem?” L snapped. “Don’t want them after you? Who are they? What do they want? Start. Talking.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio glanced between L and the dense forest brush around them. “I implore you, L, might we have this conversation somewhere more private? Perhaps with less hostile mobs swarming about?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was a distinct noise of shouting crowds drawing steadily closer still clamoring in the distance. It wasn’t possible to tell if the voices belonged to refugees or rioters without being closer, and by then it would be far too late.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I might have answers,” Dimentio offered - the smallest hint of desperation in his voice. “And I do emphasize </span>
  <em>
    <span>might</span>
  </em>
  <span>. But, you will never know if they find us here and separate us, will you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L growled a little in frustration, but his shoulders slumped like he already felt defeated. He turned to survey the woods again, visibly grasping for an alternate option. Then, with an exasperated sigh, he gave in. “Don’t move,” he snapped, setting the gun down briefly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio eyed the weapon warily, just out of his reach with the way L was holding him down. L yanked the green scarf off his neck and started to secure Dimentio’s right wrist to his own left. Before he could get it tightened, Dimentio swung upwards hard and knocked both their hands into L’s head, then used their momentum to throw L sideways and roll him off.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L’s knee met his stomach hard, and he managed to roll Dimetnio over again without terribly much effort, and a fistful of his hair shoved him face-first back on the ground. Dimentio let out a pained shout when L’s knee drove into his back to hold him there. “What’d I say?” L snapped in his ear. “Are you done now?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, quite finished,” Dimentio grunted out, wheezing as L’s weight forced the air out of his lungs. “You cannot fault me for trying.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can fault you for a lot of shit,” L corrected him. He snatched Dimentio’s arm back up, ignoring the pained grunt he got for bending his shoulder that way. He fixed the scarf around both their wrists again and pulled the knot a little tighter than was probably necessary. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L got up first, collected his weapon, then kicked Dimentio’s side and yanked him up by the arm. “Get up,” he demanded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio managed, with some struggling, to push himself up off the ground. L practically dragged him by the arm when they struck off into the woods, but kept Dimentio close to his side by the gun trained carefully on him. They maintained a quick pace in the opposite direction of the quickly approaching commotion, and two or three times they had to duck under a bush or behind some trees to avoid someone, but each time it turned out to be panicked citizens fleeing from the chaos that was quickly overwhelming a nearby city. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L watched a small gathering of locals scramble noisily past their hiding place - likely fleeing for safety elsewhere. “Are those things dangerous?” he hissed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio followed his gaze with a raised brow. “I think they are beanish, are they not? No more troublesome than toads.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He got a hard elbow in the ribs for that comment. “The shadow things,” L specified.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah, those. Individually, I would hazard that they are not. But there are a great many of them, and they are nothing if not persistent,” Dimentio responded carefully. He glanced at L’s hand and offered, “That gun won’t do much with them.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What are they?” L pressed as he got back to his feet.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio raised an eyebrow. “You expect such vast and infinite knowledge of me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L yanked him up by the arm and caught him by bumping their shoulders together. “You know shit,” was all he responded. He listened for the vanishing runaways and their original pursuers, then picked a direction away from both to drag Dimentio along. “They knew you by name, so I assume you know them.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You cannot reasonably expect I know the name and face of every enemy I have made in five thousand years,” Dimentio laughed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L shot him a pointed glare. “You didn’t seem thrilled about them catching up to you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio grinned. “So you think, therefore, I am familiar with them?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think you’re scared,” L said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio’s smile twitched. “I see.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Am I wrong?” L pressed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not entirely,” Dimentio agreed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, we’re not doing this cryptic riddle dance you like to do, “ L said, raising his voice a little. “So, how’s this? I’ll shut up, and you rehearse what you’re gonna say. When we find somewhere to lay low, we’re gonna sit down, and you’re gonna talk.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And if I decline your generous offer to hold me hostage and interrogate me?” Dimentio teased.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L shrugged. “Then, we'll see how much this gun does with </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio’s gaze flicked warily over L, then he took a deep sigh to steady himself somewhat. “Very well, I suppose. Both our options do seem rather limited. Do, at least, take your time selecting a hiding spot for us, then.”</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>------</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>Zombie Apocalypse - Dead Rising and Rioting </em>
  </b>
  <span>was the breaking news on nearly every television channel. Lakitu cameras showed aerial views of the disturbing scenes spread across several different kingdoms. Each outbreak seemed to center on a mass of shadowy creatures swarming into civilizations, and while each outbreak stemmed from a singular point, the phenomena was far from isolated.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Most news outlets tracked the paths of the creatures as they descended upon different strongholds. More powerful kingdoms and capitals were able to drive them back easily enough, but smaller villages were not so fortunate, and quickly became overrun with the inky black creatures.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Some channels played reels of interviews with witnesses who swore on the Stars that they had seen living ghosts fleeing from the creatures. Others supplemented these claims with grainy, zoomed-in footage of people spotted amidst the chaos, alongside pictures of each individual from when they had been alive, because each of them had long ago been confirmed as </span>
  <em>
    <span>dead</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi found himself staring at the screen in a slack-jawed daze, flipping mindlessly through channels as he tried to process what exactly he was watching unfold. Fortunately, at least, he didn’t spot Princess Peach’s castle amidst any of the chaos. But too many locations he had personally visited were on the growing list. A cold knot of nerves was coiling in Luigi’s stomach as he slowly realized he was scanning the risen dead looking for a face he recognized.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He flinched when Mario propped his arms on the back of the couch behind him. Luigi scooted aside a little to allow him a better view and kept flipping. “Are you seeing this?” he managed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mario leaned a little closer with a furrowed brow, but didn’t comment, his eyes also glued to the flashing images on screen. “None of them showed up here,” Luigi mumbled, somewhat to fill Mario in and somewhat to reassure himself. “Not yet, at least… dunno where they could be coming from…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mario reached out suddenly and laid a hand on Luigi’s shoulder, eyes widening a little. Luigi fumbled with the remote in his hand for a second before managing to flip a few channels backwards. He landed on a looping replay of footage from Dark Land and the attack that had taken place there. “It was a little one, they ran them off,” Luigi supplied.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mario accepted that with a small hum, and propped his chin on his fist. Luigi resumed flipping channels and let out a nervous chuckle. “Maybe, uh… the koopas are already worn out? Easy job for us, huh?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With a quick snort of laughter, Mario finally smiled and stepped away from the couch. The gesture helped Luigi relax the smallest bit. He managed to get onto his feet and grab his backpack of gear, but still, he couldn’t quite manage to tear his eyes away from the television. Peach was already at Bowser’s castle - waiting for the duo to come to her aid since before this onslaught had begun. They needed to get moving to get her back to safety. Especially if Bowser’s kingdom had been attacked already.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The nervous knot tightened in Luigi’s stomach again. He didn't realize how long he stood still and allowed the feeling to fester until Mario came back in the room. He glanced curiously between Luigi and the television, noting the switch to a new live feed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"That's Beanbean castle," Luigi managed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mario leaned against the living room doorway, folding his arms across his chest. The two watched the footage in silence for several minutes. The castle itself did not appear to be in any immediate danger, but the woods surrounding it were flooded with the spectral creatures. Frightened beans were scrambling away from the senseless chaos as armored guards tried to barricade the castle town gates.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Hmm…" Luigi hummed nervously. "Everyone is saying these things are dead… they don't look like any ghosts I've seen, but… what if…"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mario's curious gaze shifted from the television to his brother, his eyebrow raised. Luigi ran a hand over his face with a frustrated sort of sigh. "There </span>
  <em>
    <span>is </span>
  </em>
  <span>a lab in Beanbean…" Luigi kept saying. "Not that - not that </span>
  <em>
    <span>these things </span>
  </em>
  <span>came out of the vault or something. But the professor was studying some - some sort of anomaly there… whether that was </span>
  <em>
    <span>these things </span>
  </em>
  <span>or - or - or how they </span>
  <em>
    <span>got here </span>
  </em>
  <span>or - I mean -"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi shook his head suddenly and forced himself to walk away from the television, tossing the remote in his hand onto the couch. "No, no, we need to - we should go. The princess is waiting on us, no time to -"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mario calmly put up one hand to block Luigi from walking past him to the door. He fixed Luigi with an even stare. Luigi stammered in a flustered sort of way. "What?" he finally managed. "What's with you? C'mon, let's get going."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He tried once more to make for the front door, but Mario's hand met his chest and pushed him firmly backwards a few steps. Luigi stumbled a little, gave Mario an incredibly baffled look, then ran his hands over his face in stress again. "Mario, look - </span>
  <em>
    <span>no</span>
  </em>
  <span>, alright? Just - just leave it. It's not that I'm scared or anything. This is - they're not </span>
  <em>
    <span>in </span>
  </em>
  <span>Dark Land, it's fine! We can do this in our sleep!"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mario made a face as he scratched the stubble under his jaw a little. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I'm </span>
  <em>
    <span>not,</span>
  </em>
  <span>" Luigi insisted. "I was just… thinking… I'm just thinking…"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A silence hung in the room, during which the gaze of both brothers drifted slowly back to the flickering television screen. At last, with a defeated and exhausted huff, Luigi sunk back onto the couch with his head in his hands. “...I think I need to go to Beanbean,” he said, at length.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mario declined to reply; just relaxed his stance and waited patiently for Luigi to elaborate. “I think… maybe it isn’t something to do with the ghosts… but, I don’t know… I feel like I should check. At least.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi glanced up when he felt a firm hand rest on his shoulder. Mario gave him a reassuring squeeze and a firm smile, and Luigi felt a little bit of stress seep out of him. He shakingly smiled in return. “Thanks, bro,” he said, brushing Mario’s hand aside. “Can you handle Dark Land without - what am I saying? You’re fine on your own.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mario gave Luigi’s arm a playful punch as he got back to his feet, and it startled a laugh out of Luigi. “I’ll be fine, bro, no worries. I’m sure - the guards can handle things, yeah? Just want to check in with the lab. I’ll meet you back home.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mario nodded firmly, and the two struck off from Mario’s home into the woods together, side by side until their paths parted. Mario vanished down a familiar, winding trail that would eventually carry him to Bowser’s castle. Once he was out of sight, Luigi took a few deep breaths to steady his nerves, then made his way to the airport to catch a flight for the Beanbean Kingdom.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>"Her lips are the gun<br/>And her tongue are the bullets<br/>And she could save a life<br/>But she took mine away instead"</p><p>-Plastic Promises, Set It Off</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Lost too much to Gain</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Antasma was, unfortunately, not one of the lucky souls that managed to escape the castle in its dramatic upheaval. While his prison had been destroyed alongside the others that were anywhere near Abscuro’s crowning, Jaydes other cumbersome wards had held firm. He was still struggling against restraints and the annoying muzzle when inkling scavengers had found him, and it was in that miserable state that they dragged him up to the throne room.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Your majesty! Look what we’ve brought you! We found him in the keep!” one of them proclaimed excitedly as they entered and threw Antasma to the court floor. Arms still bound, he wasn’t able to catch himself, and fell onto his knees. It was fortunate he managed not to strike his face on the ground.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They seized Abscuro’s attention immediately, and he entirely disregarded the advisors he had been speaking with to rush over and investigate. “In the keep?” he repeated. “I thought it had been emptied.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A couple were still stuck,” another inkling clarified. They yanked on the chains that bound Antasma’s arms behind his back - eliciting an angry growl from him. “Looks like they had stronger wards. We found him this way.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Abscuro weighed that information in his mind, then stooped over to grab Antasma’s face. Antasma growled again and flinched back, but stilled when he felt one of the locks release. Abscuro’s magic coaxed each lock open and each ward silent, then after a tense moment he was able to pull the muzzle away from Antasma’s face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Antasma took a deep, raspy breath of fresh air that rattled his lungs. He stretched his aching jaw a bit, then fixed the king with an icy look. “...am I to presume you are Abscuro?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Abscuro’s puzzled expression shifted to surprise, and then to a soft delight. He grinned eagerly and settled onto his knees to be face to face with the nightmare. “You must be Antasma,” he said in such a soft way. “I know your voice. You had me worried when you fell silent.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With another small stretch Antasma finally managed to pop his jaw. “Jaydes did not like me vandering,” he grumbled. “She tried to cut off my reach. I doubt she realized cutting out the noize helped me reach further out.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Foul deceiver!” Luvbi interjected, shouting from her place bound to the throne. Antasma glanced curiously at her over Abscuro’s shoulder, and she grew angrier to meet his gaze. “This doth be thine fault! Look what thou hast </span>
  <em>
    <span>done</span>
  </em>
  <span>!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, look what you’ve done,” Abscuro agreed, in a more pleased and dreamy sort of way. He smiled again and ran his claws through Antasma’s fur, smoothing the creases the muzzle had left. “You </span>
  <em>
    <span>saved</span>
  </em>
  <span> me. I did not think I would ever be free of that book… Darling, how could I possibly repay you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Antasma jerked his head out of Abscuro’s grasp and flicked his ear irritably. “The freedom you promised me vould be a start.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Abscuro faltered for a moment, visibly startled that Antasma had pulled away from him. But, surprisingly, he did withdraw his hand and stand up again. “Of course, dear one,” he said. “I wouldn’t make a promise I couldn’t keep.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The chains binding Antasma’s arms yielded just as easily to the magic Abscuro had stolen in his takeover. At last, Antasma was able to unfold his arms and roll his terribly aching shoulders. Abscuro gave him a moment to stretch, then offered a hand to help him up off the ground. Antasma very pointedly ignored the gesture and stood up on his own. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Thank you</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” the bat managed gruffly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The pleasure is mine,” Abscuro said, folding his hands somewhat awkwardly in front of his chest. “Come, darling, let’s find you somewhere comfortable to -”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I vill not be staying,” Antasma scoffed. He avoided Abscuro’s very baffled look by focusing on righting the worn cloak around his shoulders. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Abscuro visibly recoiled from the statement, and the pair of inklings that had dragged Antasma to him took a few cautious steps back. Abscuro’s expression flinched momentarily, but he quickly regained himself. “No one is forcing you to,” he said with a laugh. “But, dear, you have done such an enormous favor for me… Allow me to return the gesture. Tell me what your heart desires, and I can see that it is yours.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Antasma finally turned to him with narrowed eyes. “I vant to be left alone,” he growled. “You have vhat you vanted. Our arrangement is over.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Abscuro’s face did fall at that. Then, he smiled sadly and stepped back from Antasma to give him some space. “I see. You don’t trust me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I ‘ardly know you,” Antasma confirmed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, no, no, I understand,” Abscuro sighed. His vines coiled and writhed in an anxious sort of way, and he absently twirled one of the black tendrils between his claws. "I really cannot blame you after such a horrible betrayal. We did speak only briefly - I had hoped you would tell me more. Or we could indulge in lighter conversation now that we are free."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Antasma glanced Abscruo over with a skeptical gaze. "I'm afraid I haff had my fill ov selfish kings."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Abscuro gave him that sad sort of smile again and agreed "Of course. I understand." He brightened a bit and beckoned a nearby servant closer with a wave of his hand. "At least don't go running off just yet. You're weary still. Stay just one night, let us help you recover, and you may go once you gather your strength."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Antasma fidgeted somewhat uneasily and glanced around the throne room. He was anxious to be anywhere but the castle that had held him prisoner, but he was visibly reluctant to turn down some rest and comfort. "...Fine," he agreed. "Vone night. I vill leave in the morning."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Abscuro grinned wide and bloomed brighter, even at the audible scowl in his voice. He took the skittish servant by the crook of their arm and told them "Find our beloved guest somewhere comfortable in the castle. Bring him anything he asks for and see that he isn't disturbed. Then, go to the chefs on my order and -"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I doubt your kitchen is serving nightmares," Antasma teased. He couldn't help a playful sort of grin. "I von't recover vithout them."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I'm </span>
  <em>
    <span>certain </span>
  </em>
  <span>this castle is in no short supply," Abscuro laughed. The servant gave them both a perplexed look, as if trying to determine as if they were behind tested. Abscuro gently pushed them towards Antasma and said "Go on, get him settled. If the chefs cannot make a meal of nightmares, you may go to the mages. Or perhaps </span>
  <em>
    <span>your </span>
  </em>
  <span>mind has some nightmares to offer?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Antasma grinned mischievously down at the timid servant, and they visibly startled at the implication. They nodded quickly and bowed to Abscuro. "I'll try the mages…" they confirmed in a soft voice. They turned to scurry away with a curt "This way, your grace," and Antasma followed the shy thing out of the throne room and deeper into the castle. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With a pleased sigh, Abscuro dismissed the two inklings that had brought Antasma to him, then returned to his group of advisors. Sidestepping them and their original conversation, he grabbed Lyrinn by the arm and pulled her several steps away from the group. "Lyrinn, my dear, I have a favor," he said lowly. "Something I'd like your scouts to go and fetch for me."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lyrinn stammered somewhat before she regained herself. "Your majesty, we do have leads on where Dimentio could have escaped… but we have not yet -"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"That can wait," Abscuro cut her off. "How quickly can you send your scouts elsewhere? I need this done before our guest leaves tomorrow."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lyrinn seemed somewhat confused, but nodded briskly. "I'll send for them immediately, your majesty."</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>-----</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>"This is a touch </span>
  <em>
    <span>obvious</span>
  </em>
  <span>, is it not?" Dimentio noted, glancing around. The small house L was dragging him towards was, indeed, the only residence in the surrounding area. But it was also standing in a vast clearing, closer to the empty shoreline than the thicket of trees they were leaving the safety of. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L approached the house anyway, quickly skirting along the edge of it and glancing inside the dark windows. "Out of the city," he quickly reasoned. "Vacation house. Winter's 'round the corner. Too cold for beach trips."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The house was, indeed, entirely empty. It was also locked, L discovered when he tried the doorknob. He jerked his arm that was tied to Dimentio's and prompted "Get us in."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"With </span>
  <em>
    <span>what</span>
  </em>
  <span>?" Dimentio laughed incredulously. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L rolled his eyes and muttered "</span>
  <em>
    <span>useless motherfucker</span>
  </em>
  <span>" as he shoved the pistol into the waistband of his pants. He ran his fingers around the top of the doorframe, the welcome mat, the pathway stones, until he produced a spare key that had been hidden in the dirt of one of the window mounted flower boxes. "I </span>
  <em>
    <span>saw </span>
  </em>
  <span>you teleport. You got no fuckin’ magic now?" He snapped, a little louder, as he opened the door and let himself in.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio stumbled in after him with another small chuckle. "Had I more than a single drop of magic in my blood still, be certain I would not have allowed you to wrestle me to the filthy ground."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L slammed the door shut and locked it behind them, then shoved Dimentio's back against the door and held him there with an arm across his chest and the gun pointed under his jaw. "This funny to you?" he growled. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Comedy and tragedy are but two sides of the same coin," Dimentio said playfully. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L just snarled in anger and grabbed the collar of Dimentio's cloak to drag him further inside. He selected one of the wooden chairs at the dining table to push Dimentio into. Then he took the scarf binding their wrists in his teeth and tried to pry the knot undone without dropping his weapon again. Dimentio helpfully held a palm up and offered "Shall I hold that to my own head for you?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L knocked the blunt end of the handle against Dimentio's head, startling a sharp cry out of him. He did, somehow, manage to untie them both and wriggle his own wrist free. He knelt down and set his gun on the floor to properly secure both of Dimentio's hands behind the back of the chair, and even tied the scarf to the framework itself for good measure. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"If you split my skull, we will both be quite out of luck," Dimentio quietly complained, gently shaking his head to clear his vision somewhat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Don't be a smartass," L advised. He stepped over to the adjacent chair and angled it to face the magician before collapsing into it. The gun raised to point at Dimentio's head again, and L prompted "You come up with any good answers yet?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio shifted in his chair, trying to wiggle his shoulders into a more comfortable position. "Well, I would venture to guess you have no answers of your own."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I don't have a  gun to my head," L pointed out. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio flicked his gaze to the weapon again, then back to L. "Where did you obtain that?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L narrowed his eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio let a sort of frustrated sigh escape him. "Honestly, Mr. L, we are like blind leading the blind down a cruel and treacherous path. We can compromise, at least, can we not? No tricks, all cards on the table, and we can sort this mess out together."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A very tense silence filled the room. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L's rather displeased expression did not shift, but he did eventually mutter "Nicked it off a d-man. A dead one."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio's brow rose at that claim. "So, they are slaughtering d-men? No wonder Jaydes has yet to regain control of the situation."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"What are they?" L prompted again, tipping the gun to redirect Dimentio's attention. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio sighed. "Something long forgotten. 'Inklings' they call themselves. Only fragments of memories of what they used to be."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"What did I say about your bullshit riddles," L snarled. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You asked what I know, and that is what I know," Dimentio said. "They are </span>
  <em>
    <span>unknown</span>
  </em>
  <span>. They are nothing but an idea of something that no longer exists. They are not made to exist and live in a world that has forgotten them."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Then how are they here?" L argued. "That's not a small group, either, that's an </span>
  <em>
    <span>army</span>
  </em>
  <span>."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio took a moment to very sincerely flounder for words. "I… do not know," he admitted. "I had thought these worlds safe from them, because it rejects them. I am unsure how they were able to cross over."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L frowned, obviously unsatisfied with that answer. "What're they after you for?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio shrugged and leaned back in the chair with a heavy sigh. "Who in these worlds does not have some grudge to settle with me? You, yourself, delayed your own escape from the depths of hell to seize the deliciously irresistible opportunity to smite me."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You shouldn't have- …been there…" L said, impulsively angry before he managed to bite back his tone and stop volunteering information.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio met his cold stare evenly. Eventually, he took a very deep breath and looked around the room, shifting his feet anxiously on the floor. "My magic missing is no happenstance…" he said slowly. "I do not feel… complete. I believe I may have miscalculated when I took my final bow. My soul is rather damaged."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L shifted in his own chair and felt his finger itch at the trigger. "Yeah. Mine too."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio laughed once. "Ah, yes. Unfortunate that we had to part ways on such terms."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L didn't have a response to that beyond raising his other hand to steady the gun. Not to take aim and fire. To hide the shaking in his hands. Dimentio noticed anyway, but decided not to comment and instead tilted his head back inquisitively. "No. I should not have been at the castle," he volunteers. "I suspect I was being pieced back together before Her Infernal Majesty could weigh my sins and decide how to dispose of me."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio shifted, slowly, to lean forward. L flinched when he did and jerked the gun as a warning. "Do tell me, Mr. L…" the magician continued. "What were </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>doing at the castle? When I beckoned to you in the depths of Luigi's mind, my call went unanswered. I had assumed that you were eradicated from him completely."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Dunno," L snapped, his voice tight with anger. "Just woke up. Last thing I remembered is you fucking lighting me on fire."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio grinned, and flicked his gaze over L. "Ah. Then these are not from our final act."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L's brow pushed together in confusion, caught somewhat off-guard by the comment. He was caught more off-guard by Dimentio's face suddenly falling, the magician's gaze darting across the floor as he thought frantically. He slowly sat back up in his own chair as realization began to dawn on him. "...Luigi did not fall with me. I left him behind."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"The fuck's that mean?" L pressed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio surveyed his captor again. "We may have been in the castle for the same reason," he said, slowly and carefully, as if he were defusing a bomb. "Perhaps your soul is incomplete as well. Waiting on what remains to join it in the afterlife."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L shifted uneasily. "...you think… Luigi's not dead."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I would wager, yes," Dimentio confirmed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L squinted at him. "But, I am."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I assure you, Mr. L, I am no less baffled by the situation," Dimentio said with a small smile. "Listen to yourself… Do you know him? Your memory troubled you greatly when we both toiled under the count."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L shifted again, and felt his heartbeat somewhat falter. It became more of a conscious effort to not let his gaze drift from Dimentio. "It's… fuzzy," he decided at length. "I know he's… me… or, I guess I'm him. He was here first."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio nodded calmly. "Nastasia hypnotized him to serve the count. It pushed aside his memories of a former life and old allies to make room for the unwavering loyalty she required. I thought, when I killed you, that I had successfully reversed the process to - how would one phrase it… 'switch back' to Luigi. But, as I have previously lamented, I failed to switch him back to </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span>."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Because I was gone," L supplied. "Because I was dead. You killed me."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio shrugged. "Luigi survived. Enough that the Damned Queen herself recognized his soul as one of the living, and allowed him to walk out freely."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"But you </span>
  <em>
    <span>killed me</span>
  </em>
  <span>," L growled louder. "You fucking </span>
  <em>
    <span>said </span>
  </em>
  <span>it, that's what you were </span>
  <em>
    <span>trying </span>
  </em>
  <span>to do."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Were the glowing sockets in his mask any less empty and vacant, Dimentio might have rolled his eyes. "Linger on faults of my improvisational skills all you like - </span>
  <em>
    <span>or</span>
  </em>
  <span>, we could move along to the moment at present and begin the arduous process of remedying the situation."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A bark of shocked laughter escaped L, and he couldn't help smiling. "I'm not </span>
  <em>
    <span>helping </span>
  </em>
  <span>you! Are you insane?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Why not?" Dimentio asked, clearly baffled. "We are in the same situation - incomplete and </span>
  <em>
    <span>unstable</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Our souls could not last </span>
  <em>
    <span>inside </span>
  </em>
  <span>the realm of Her Lowliness' protection, much less beyond it. But, perhaps if we could locate our missing- "</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You're not gonna touch him," L snapped. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio's face fell, and he narrowed his eyes. "Mr. L… </span>
  <em>
    <span>do </span>
  </em>
  <span>try to be reasonable about this."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L's lip curled into a snarl, and he cocked the hammer on the gun as a warning. "You're </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>gonna touch him," he repeated louder. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio's hands snapped forward and grabbed the gun, yanking it aside just as L instinctively pulled the trigger. L let go with one hand to elbow Dimentio in the face, and both of them tumbled out of their chairs and onto the floor. L tried to keep a sturdy enough grasp on the gun to take another shot, but he was so focused on that endeavor that Dimentio managed to get the upper hand on him and end up straddling his waist. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The gun slipped from his fingers, and a wave of sheer panic crashed over L as his arms flinched over his head reflexively.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The noise that halted the brawl was not a gunshot, but the clattering of metal against the wooden floor. L glanced in the sound's direction and saw the gun several yards away from them both. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As he shakily struggled to breathe again, Dimentio grabbed his wrists, pulled his arms away from his face, and pushed them to the floor on either side of his head. "So dramatic," Dimentio muttered. "Calm down. It would do me no good to kill you now."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L's wide eyes flicked over Dimentio's calm face, then glanced to the hands holding him down. One wrist still had the scarf loosely wrapped around it. L took a stuttering breath to settle his nerves and took care to clearly pronounce "Get the fuck off me."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio adjusted himself to sit more squarely on L's stomach and stop him from trying to squirm away, and made no effort whatsoever to remove himself from L's personal space. "Let me speak. And then I will be silent," Dimentio promised. He waited cautiously, and when L did no more than narrow his eyes angrily, he continued. "You know I am not dangerous unnecessarily. Luigi has been - and still is - </span>
  <em>
    <span>safe</span>
  </em>
  <span> as long as he is </span>
  <em>
    <span>useful </span>
  </em>
  <span>to me."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L sucked in a sharp gasp through his teeth, and a tremor of anger swept over him. "Get fucked, psycho," he decided to spit out. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio sighed, somewhat disappointed. He deliberated internally, then he slowly pushed himself up off the floor. Landing his foot on L's chest to step over him was probably on purpose, but L could really only manage to grunt and roll over in response, pushing himself up onto his elbows to watch the magician carefully.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio stopped by the gun and stooped down to carefully pick it up. "I would prefer to handle this in a civilized manner," he said slowly. He turned the gun carefully in his hands to examine it as he drifted back to where L laid on the floor. "How is this? I will not pursue Luigi without you at my side. We can stay put in this pleasantly shabby abode until you realize that I am in the right and elect to join me."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio grinned down at L's very confused face. L glanced the magician up and down, then finally took the bait. "...and I should just trust you?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I am stranded, lost, and magic-less," Dimentio reminded him. "And Luigi has bested me in battle previously. The task would be easier with a companion."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I'm not gonna help you </span>
  <em>
    <span>fight </span>
  </em>
  <span>him! What's wrong with you?" L snapped angrily.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio shrugged, and he took the pistol by its barrel to safely offer it to L. "Then you are gambling that the fragmented mess you are presently is capable of surviving without him. You will see I am correct, and agree to aid me. Or you will destabilize and vanish entirely - at which point I will simply proceed without you."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L snarled up at him. He snatched the gun from Dimentio's hand a little too forcefully before he pushed himself up off the ground. L swallowed the urge to punch Dimentio to the floor, and instead pushed him aside with a hand in the middle of his chest and gruffly stated "Start looking for food. Don't leave the damn house."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"As you wish, my liege," Dimentio said with a grin and a small bow. He made his way into the kitchen, carefully unwinding L's scarf from his arm as he went. L chose a door in the opposite direction to investigate and did his best to stop thinking too hard about what was happening.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>"Please don't tell me that we're fine<br/>I've got too much on my mind<br/>isn't this too much to see?<br/>Maybe</p><p>Cause we've Lost too much to Gain<br/>We were dancin' in the rain<br/>Tell me - what am I to do<br/>With a double dose of you?"</p><p>-Plastic Promises, Set It Off</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. All You've Got</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Surprisingly, the journey to the Beanbean Kingdom was only slightly more turbulent than it usually was. Some general gossip and unease buzzed around the Mushroom Kingdom airport, particularly centered around flights to and from areas that had already been attacked. Luigi just thanked the Stars that they didn’t seem to be outright cancelling most of the flights. Actually, the general panic had probably caused some travellers to think twice about their tickets, which had allowed Luigi to snag a rather immediate flight.</p><p> </p><p>Security was a lot heavier in Beanbean’s airport, and security was supported by royal guards who advised visitors to stay clear of the Castle Town area while investigations were underway. The threat had been dealt with for now, they said, but it was better to exercise caution while the origins and intentions of the violent creatures were still unknown.</p><p> </p><p>Luigi managed to get past the guards as he always did - by showing them a glittering gold broach in the shape of a rose (autographed, of course). Rather than sending him alone, however, a pair of guards elected to escort Luigi personally to the castle if he was here to speak with the Queen and Prince. Luigi figured that was likely a decent way to start gathering information, so he agreed, and within the hour found himself being ushered past tighter and tighter security into the castle foyer.</p><p> </p><p>Luigi was taken to the throne room, where the royal family was gathered with castle advisors and high ranking soldiers, all crowded around map and note covered tables and urgently discussing the details of what had transpired earlier that day. Before his escorts could even begin announcing his presence, Prince Peasley leapt over the table and dashed over to throw his arms around Luigi’s shoulders.</p><p> </p><p>“How wonderful to see you!” he exclaimed. "Oh, I wish times were not so dangerous for a visit!"</p><p> </p><p>Luigi laughed nervously, somewhat struggling to remain balanced upright. "Um, well, that's sorta why I'm here."</p><p> </p><p>Peasley gasped aloud and jerked back to grab Luigi's face with both hands. "You've come all this way to help us?" he said.</p><p> </p><p>Luigi nodded with a sheepish grin, and Peasley gave him a firm kiss on each cheek, making Luigi's face turn bright red. "Oh, you're marvelous, Luigi! How chivalrous! How brilliant!"</p><p> </p><p>With another bashful chuckle, Luigi managed to squirm free of Peasley's reaching hands and take a step back from him. "Um, I guess, heh heh… I, um, I saw some theories the- the shadow things might be… sort of ghosts? So, I, um… I wanted t-to check the, um, the lab that’s-"</p><p> </p><p>“You don’t think this could have been the professor’s doing?” Peasley gasped.</p><p> </p><p>“No, no, definitely not!” Luigi quickly amended. “But, I know he was studying undead <em> before </em>these things showed up… so, maybe… I dunno, I thought there might be, um, something useful there? Maybe an idea where they came from?”</p><p> </p><p>Peasley’s eyes lit up and sparkled. “Oh, <em> brilliant! </em>That could put us one step ahead of the ruffians, should they decide to show their faces again!”</p><p> </p><p>Luigi fidgeted, moving his hat aside to ruffle his curly hair. “Sure hope they don’t…” he muttered.</p><p> </p><p>“Always better to expect the unexpected,” Peasley declared. “We should make haste! The cowards could be plotting another attack as we speak!”</p><p> </p><p>“W-w-we?” Luigi stammered out. He backed up a little further and held both his hands up. “Um, Peasley, that’s sweet, b-but I’m sure you’re busy here! I’m fine on my own, it’s not-”</p><p> </p><p>“Nonsense! I’m thrilled to escort you there!” Peasley interrupted. He hooked his elbow in the crook of Luigi’s, ignoring his mother’s fumbled protest in favor of dragging the hero with him outside. “We’ll be there and back before sundown if we get going!”</p><p> </p><p>While Professor E. Gadd had set up a busy cafe inside Castle Town to fund his scientific endeavors, the lab in which they were conducted was tucked further away from civilization, along the path to the Hooniversity. It was nearly an hour’s walk from Castle Town, but time passed quickly enough with Peasley’s bright chatter as he filled Luigi in on events and tales since his last visit to the kingdom.</p><p> </p><p>While there were a scattered few creatures in the wild to remain cautious of, the shadowy attackers failed to make an appearance during their trek, and the two arrived at the lab unscathed and unbothered. The professor himself was not present - off beginning a new investigation in who knows where - which Luigi counted as a blessing. Luigi was able to guess the passcode to the door in few enough attempts that Peasley did not fully realize that they were breaking in, and managed to get into the main computer modules the same way.</p><p> </p><p>“Astounding, that you have such a penchant for technology,” Peasley said, a little in awe, as he watched Luigi type and click away. “You’re terribly brilliant.”</p><p> </p><p>A startled laugh slipped out of Luigi, and he felt his face turning red again. “Nah, the professor knows a lot more than I do…”</p><p> </p><p>Peasley gave him a quizzical sort of look. “That does not make you less accomplished,” he said firmly. “Don’t undermine yourself, my friend, you have just as much expertise!”</p><p> </p><p>Luigi frowned uneasily. “Wouldn’t say<em> just </em> as much…” he muttered.</p><p> </p><p>Peasley frowned deeply, and looked like he had the mind to say something else, but the data on screen Luigi was rifling through abruptly caught his attention. He grabbed for Luigi’s hand and snapped “Wait, wait, wait, what was that?”</p><p> </p><p>Luigi startled from a sort of daze and clicked backwards through the programs a little more meticulously than he had opened them. </p><p> </p><p>“There! That’s where they came from!” Peasley shouted, tapping his finger on the screen. They’d landed on a rather geometric looking map, and Peasley kept tapping at a violet circle shaded over a certain area.</p><p> </p><p>“This is Beanbean?” Luigi confirmed, scaling in and out of the map at random in an attempt to get a feel for the landscape.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, of course. I can tell by the elevation patterns. Look, this is where we are now,” Peasley explained, dragging his finger along the smattering of vague pixels. “The Hooniversity sits roughly here. These are the plains we came through, and this would be the plateau the castle sits on.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, I kinda see it,” Luigi agreed, squinting skeptically. He zoomed in closer to the marker, but clicking in and around it only pulled up random sheets of recorded spectral data. “This is in… Chucklehuck Woods? Or is it further out?”</p><p> </p><p>Peasley leaned on the desk beside Luigi to get a little closer to the large screen. “It’s much deeper in, but I believe that is still technically the bounds of the woods. There’s only gates on one side - the other border is mountains.”</p><p> </p><p>Luigi chewed on his lip thoughtfully. “...It looks like… he’s marking spectral hotspots. There’s a lot of ghost activity coming through right there.”</p><p> </p><p>Peasley glanced between Luigi and the screen with raised eyebrows. “...That isn’t the attack?”</p><p> </p><p>“No, no, look, this is from years ago,” Luigi noted, pointing out a list of dates by earlier note entries. “I wonder if that’s the anomaly he came here to study. Is there… are ghosts common in the woods?”</p><p> </p><p>Peasley shook his head with a clearly baffled expression. “Not to my knowledge. No more frequent or scarce than elsewhere, at the least.”</p><p> </p><p>Luigi made a puzzled sort of noise and started clicking around again. He followed some links to similar programs, and found more maps that were equally vague and difficult to distinguish as real places. Eventually, he was able to find a much bigger map that seemed to be a combination of all the others and showed the locations and their markers in scale to one another. </p><p> </p><p>“These are definitely some sort of hotspot,” Luigi decided. He tapped his finger to an extremely large and very messily outlined purple shape and said “This is Evershade Valley.” He found a few more smaller, but still quite large dots scattered around a distant mountain range and decided “I think that’s about where the new lab is. The Last Resort used to be there, so it’s crawling with ghosts, too.”</p><p> </p><p>“I heard there was an attack here,” Peasley said, in an insistent sort of way, as he touched a finger to the very small mark near in the core of Dark Land. He pointed out a few more and kept insisting, “And one here. And here, I think. And here as well.”</p><p> </p><p>“This isn’t a map of attacks,” Luigi said again. He started scrolling through the data again and grimaced uncertainly. “...I don’t think so, anyway. <em> Some </em>of these marks are from last night. But most of these are years old. It might be… well, your attack was at the castle, not over here in the woods, yeah? Maybe it’s just… where things show up.”</p><p> </p><p>Peasley straightened up and folded his arms across his chest, leaning his hip against the desk so he could more fully face Luigi. “Could that be what we are searching for, then? Where these things are coming from?”</p><p> </p><p>“It might be…” Luigi murmured, scrolling through the map some more. “Maybe like… some kind of portal?”</p><p> </p><p>“From where?” Peasley pressed. </p><p> </p><p>Luigi dropped his head into his hands and rubbed his eyes a little as he thought. “I wonder if they could be coming up from the afterrealm. And that’s why people are calling them ghosts.”</p><p> </p><p>“...That would explain the familiar faces spotted amongst them,” Peasley mused carefully. “I’ve seen several claims that some people were spotted that were supposed to be dead.”</p><p> </p><p>Luigi exhaled rather shakily. “...yeah. I saw that.”</p><p> </p><p>A ping on the computer interrupted the duo briefly. New data automatically filed into place in a certain list, and the small marker in Dark Land’s core grew a few pixels in size. Luigi felt his hands start shaking as he clicked through the appropriate lists to find the new entry, and skimmed over it quickly. </p><p><br/>“What did you do?” Peasley prompted. “Did you add something?”</p><p> </p><p>“Automatic,” Luigi said tensely. “Picked up new data. Something happened.”</p><p> </p><p>Peasley’s eyes flicked eagerly across the screen - searching for understanding, but visibly unable to sift through the information with the same accuracy Luigi could. “Dark Land, didn’t you say?” he kept pressing. “Do you think there’s more of them? Reinforcements?”</p><p> </p><p>Luigi bit hard into the back of his knuckles. “I hope not,” he muttered. “Mario’s there.”</p><p> </p><p>Peasley stopped talking then, drumming his gloved fingers on the metal table as he thought. A somewhat tense silence settled over the small lab as the two stared at the indicators on-screen, and they each individually processed the culmination of their discoveries. </p><p> </p><p>"...Can you contact the professor?" Peasley eventually said. </p><p> </p><p>Luigi chuckled and rubbed between his eyes. "Not on purpose," he joked. </p><p> </p><p>“Well, we should depart quickly then,” Peasley decided. </p><p> </p><p>Luigi startled when Peasley walked away from the desk suddenly. “Wha… where are we going?” he asked in a daze.</p><p> </p><p>“Straight to the source,” was the confident reply, to Luigi’s dismay. “If that is how they were able to reach us, we need to prevent them from a second attack! We can journey into the woods and investigate the anomaly ourselves - and, with luck, be able to cut these villains off at the pass!”</p><p> </p><p>“Wh-what if they <em> do </em>come back?” Luigi stammered as he reluctantly got to his feet. “We shouldn’t just - just go wander off on our own.”</p><p> </p><p>Peasley drew his sword and twirled it with a bit of flourish and a wide grin. “<em> Ha! </em>I’d like to see the scoundrels go toe to toe with me again! Quickly now, we’re losing sunlight by the minute! We could be racing for all we know!”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, don’t say it like that!” Luigi whined, growing more anxious. Peasley was already gone, sprinting out the door into the surrounding plains. Luigi stalled a moment longer to properly shut off and lock down the computer systems the way he had found them. Then, almost as an afterthought, he dashed to storage closets and flung them open in succession until he found a poltergust hidden within one. It was older, and felt clunky in his hands, but it whirred to life when he experimentally flipped a switch, so it would do. Luigi tugged the familiar defense onto his back, then sealed the lab door shut behind him as he rushed to catch up with Peasley.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>-----</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Antasma did not fully intend to sleep late into the following day, but it was difficult not to after he had eaten his fill of nightmares and snuggled into an extravagant bed fit for a king. He likely would have slept hours longer if the shy little inkling servant had not returned to his room and awoken him. She apologized for intruding and told him that His Majesty King Abscuro had a gift he wished to give him. She said it in an extremely anxious, stuttering way, like she was very afraid Antasma might bite her head off. He considered it, but he was more curious than he was interested in frightening her, so he managed to refrain.</p><p> </p><p>When they met in the throne room again, Abscuro was no less excited to see Antasma and no less annoying about it. Antasma insisted, again, that he was not intent on remaining anywhere near the castle. Abscuro begged him to, before leaving, just accept this small token of gratitude. Eager to get going, Antasma relented and allowed the eccentric king to lead him to his surprise.</p><p> </p><p>Antasma followed Abscuro down the winding steps to deeper and deeper layers of the castle keep. The broken containment constructs had mostly been cleared out, and many inklings were scurrying about the halls building new units that were much more elaborately designed. They looked less like the high-security prison Antasma remembered awaking in, and seemed a lot closer to pedestals one would display art or jewelry in for a museum. A few of the finished glass boxes that had been completed already held living captives inside - not the flickering lights or twisted forms of sleeping souls, but fully revived and living creatures who fidgeted anxiously in the traps that held them.</p><p> </p><p>To keep pace with Abscuro, he couldn’t spare more than a passing glance to each creature. Some seemed like the villainous type enough that they could have reasonably been previous residents of the keep, now restored to their original forms by Abscuro’s newfound ability to reverse death. However, an increasing number of the collection seemed startling out of place among the inklings and d-men that busied around them - enough that they made Antasma wonder where they had come from and how they had gotten down here.</p><p> </p><p>One creature in particular caught Antasma’s eye enough that it made him pause and stare at her curiously. The blonde girl noticed him staring, and she visibly startled in surprise, scrambling up onto her knees and banging her fists on the glass as she called out to him. Her face looked frightened, but her voice was swallowed up completely by the enchanted case that held her on a tall pedestal.</p><p> </p><p>Antasma’s wide eyes flicked over her soft pink dress with increasing unease, until Abscuro called out to him “This way, darling!” Antasma gave her one more parting glance over his shoulder, then rushed to catch up with the king.</p><p> </p><p>“Abscuro,” Antasma started, still glancing backwards until they rounded a corner into another stairwell. “That princess -”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, a marvelous find, isn’t she?” Abscuro said excitedly. His vines twirled in an absent sort of manner as they glided along the stairs, in a mimicry of his hand gestures. “Humans are so rare now! Nearly extinct! Can you believe it? But, they’re like cockroaches, aren’t they? There’s always another one under a rock somewhere.”</p><p> </p><p>Antasma narrowed his eyes at the odd comment, but kept his thoughts quietly to himself, and followed Abscuro into the deepest annex of the dungeon. These rooms were more open than the pretty decorative boxes upstairs, but the clanking of chains and struggling of captives indicated that they were no less secure.</p><p> </p><p>A deep, guttural growl rose over the noise as a giant figure lunged towards Antasma. Dead panic swept over the bat, and he reflexively reeled backwards and fell against the far wall, arm flung over his head in anticipation of the attack. Dangerous teeth and claws never struck him, but relief never quite set in enough to still his frantically racing heart.</p><p> </p><p>His wide eyes flicked over his arm and landed on Bowser. Not a vision brought on by a haze of fear, but actually Bowser himself. The giant koopa locked eyes with Antasma, and snarled again in a clearly enraged sort of way, struggling against the array of bonds that held him. Black, thorny vines - not unlike Abscuro’s - interlocked around Bowser to restrain his limbs, and silver thorns cut little marks into his snout where they were bound too tightly around his face, preventing him from opening his mouth enough for even fire to escape.</p><p> </p><p>Abscuro laughed fondly at Antasma’s reaction. “Oh, darling, don’t be frightened!” he soothed, reaching a hand out towards him. "You're safe, dear one, I wouldn't put you in harm's way."</p><p> </p><p>Antasma forced his breathing to even out as he glanced between Abscuro's hand and the bars of the dungeon cell. He did not accept the offered hand, but after a moment, he managed to pry himself off of the wall and straighten back up. "Vhat is… how…"</p><p> </p><p>"Come, come, don't be shy," Abscuro said, clearly giddy with excitement. He grabbed Antasma's arm as an attending d-man undid the locked door and allowed the two inside.</p><p> </p><p>As Abscuro guided him within the confines of the cell, Bowser made another solid attempt to lurch towards them with a shout of rage. It became apparent that the vines binding him were tethered to the floor in various spots, effectively pinning him in place on the ground. It wasn't possible for Bowser to get more than a foot closer to his captor, but the thorns digging into his leathery skin did not do much to prevent him from trying.</p><p> </p><p>Antasma's eyes flicked over the vine entanglement in a puzzled sort of way, then followed Abscuro's vines as he drifted closer to Bowser. "I do apologize,” Abscuro said. “He's in such an ugly state, I know.”</p><p> </p><p>Bowser tried to ram his horns into him, but Abscuro caught him by one horn and managed to hold him mostly still as he gently touched the bruises and gashes along Bowser's face. The marks were too large and deep to have been caused by the thorn restraints. Likely, he was injured by whatever attacked him and brought him here. "I really should have taken the time to heal him," Abscuro kept saying, throwing Antasma an apologetic smile. "I was just so excited for you to see.”</p><p> </p><p>Antasma narrowed his eyes, steadily coming down off the rush of panic. “Vhat is this?” he finally managed in a tight voice.</p><p> </p><p>“This is your Bowser, isn’t it?” Abscuro asked with a tilt of his head. “The one who you said betrayed you?”</p><p><br/><br/>“I mean vhy is here <em> here </em>?” Antasma snapped.</p><p> </p><p>“I got him for <em> you! </em>” was the cheerful reply. Abscuro sauntered away from his captive and grabbed both of Antasma’s hands in his own, at last tearing the bat’s stunned gaze away from Bowser. “I sent my scouts out searching just after we spoke. I know, I know, you said you only wanted your freedom… but, I couldn’t resist the chance to spoil you a little. And who doesn’t like revenge?”</p><p> </p><p>Something clicked into place in Antasma’s mind, and he slowly turned his gaze back to Bowser’s angry snarl. “...Revenge,” he softly repeated.</p><p> </p><p>Abscuro grinned wickedly. “However you’d like it,” he agreed. He turned Antasma’s hands over in his own, idly stroking the bat’s dangerous claws. “So much pain you’ve been through… I imagine there’s a wealth of suffering you’d like to bleed from your heart. It can be so soothing to bleed it from your enemy instead.”</p><p> </p><p>Bowser made another angry, frantic sort of shout and struggled against his bonds again until the thorns cut bleeding marks into him. Dark smoke flared out of his nostrils where he tried to breathe fire and it was actively choked out of him. His anger slowly, slowly began to melt into a very tangible fear as the gravity of the situation began to dawn on him. Antasma could taste that fear tickling the very edges of his mind, and suddenly he was starving for the horrors of nightmares again.</p><p> </p><p>Abscuro sensed the change in atmosphere, smiling wider in delight. He brushed his hand along Antasma’s cheek and said, “I’ll let you two get reacquainted. Do come find me before you take your leave, though, won’t you?”</p><p> </p><p>Antasma nodded softly. “Ov course,” he promised. “...Thank you.”</p><p> </p><p>“The pleasure is mine,” Abscuro told him again. His claws brushed through Antasma’s fur as he slipped gracefully away, then the heavy iron door clanged shut when he left.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>"Please, doll, don't make a scene<br/>I got you where I need<br/>Right when you start to plead<br/>I shut the lock, throw away the key</p><p>God, I feel so sorry for you<br/>Your looks are All You've Got<br/>Attention starved for what you're not"</p><p>-Cunning Not Convincing, Get Scared</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Something Sweet</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>There wasn’t much in the tiny house that L was really searching for besides some considerable distance between himself and Dimentio. But being alone with his own thoughts was only better by an incredibly small margin, so the moment he stepped into the master bedroom, he immediately set to work rifling through the closets and drawers and chests. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hardly any clothing was stashed here, but what L did come across happened to be in his size. He grabbed what few articles he could find in black or gray and tossed them on the queen sized bed to sort through later. L also happened upon a stash of coins under one of the bedside drawers - one pouch of beanish currency and another of mushroom currency. He pocketed both for later.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The master bathroom was connected by an adjacent door, so L decided to check their next. He found a first aid kit under the bathroom sink, and started to stash the empty spaces inside it with various pills and potions that he yanked out of the cabinet and drawers. L’s brain was starting to spin into survival mode - flashing through a long list of what all could go wrong if they had to flee this safehouse and search for a new hideaway.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L was abruptly distracted from his frantic search as he caught sight of his own reflection in the vanity mirrors. It startled him at first, then he slowly relaxed into only the usual mild discomfort. Something had always felt disorienting about the image of his own face. Something that made him feel extremely wrong and incorrect and like a foreigner in his own skin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Retrospectively, it was probably the feeling of needing to be Luigi again, and not remembering who that was.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Even with his memory more intact and some rather large gaps finally filled in, L’s reflection was no more disorienting to look at. Slowly, he began to realize that was because it was not only a feeling of something being wrong, but something </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually </span>
  </em>
  <span>being incorrect about his reflection.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L closed the messy drawers and leaned onto the vanity, almost nose to nose with his own face. Bright red marks were peeking out from under his mask, travelling down the length of his cheek. Pushing his hair aside, he found that the discoloration turned a darker, angrier red as it crept across his ear - and, in fact, his hair was several inches longer than he had recalled it being. It curled past his ears and hung almost to his shoulders, though he was certain it used to only reach the nape of his neck.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Fine, he had been dead for some time, most likely. Now that he was physical and alive again, his soul was catching up with lost time, and creating the illusion that he had lived and grown in however long he had been gone. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But, that accounted for the </span>
  <em>
    <span>hair</span>
  </em>
  <span> - not whatever this was on his face. His skin was smooth and tan, and always had been. L continued to run his fingers over the mark, then hastily yanked off his mask and hat to throw both aside on the counter. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The redness continued up over his eye on one side, and both sides trailed down to his neck and disappeared into his shirt. L took the back of his glove in his teeth and pulled it clumsily off his shaking hand so he could feel the rougher texture, and he was startled to see an even darker burgundy all over his hand. The marks continued all the way up his arm underneath his sleeve, and he found identical, angry, disfigured marks on his other arm as well.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L struggled out of his shirt and let it fall to the floor as he looked frantically over his bare chest and back in the mirror. Almost his entire back and shoulders were a deep and angry red, and the texture was visibly different from the rest of his skin. L’s breathing became more stressed and labored as he studied the swathes of scar tissue with increasing unease</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Slowly, L brought his arms up and folded them experimentally over his face. Colors and patterns of the marks began to line up, and memories started to click more solidly into place. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio’s odd observation of his appearance suddenly made sense. The magician anticipated Luigi would have been damaged from whatever had ended up killing Dimentio. But, L had different scars. He wasn’t there for their final act. He had burned alive before Dimentio and Luigi got to take the stage together.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, that is a bold look.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio’s calm voice startled L a lot more than it should have, jolting him abruptly out of his racing thoughts. Dimentio had crept quietly into the room, watching L’s traumatic walk down memory lane as he leaned casually in the doorway. He smiled at L’s frightened expression, then examined the dense gray sweatshirt he had taken from the bed. “I see, then. You have me doing all the tedious investigating while you are in here playing dress-up.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L snarled angrily, and as he strode out of the bathroom he snatched the sweatshirt with one hand and shoved Dimentio out of his way with the other. “Disguises. In case we gotta run, dumbass,” L shot back as he yanked the soft garment over his head. “Can’t take you anywhere looking like a fuckin’ confetti canon went off.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio remained against the wall where L had shoved him, and watched curiously as the man started to sift through the other garments strewn across the bed. “...really?” Dimentio finally said. “Is that it?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Look at you!” L defended, waving his arm in the magician’s direction. “You’d stick out like a sore thumb anywhere we try to go. Amazed people can’t see ya through the damn walls.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I am not referring to the clothing,” Dimentio clarified, his eyes narrowing just a touch. “You have nothing to say of the scars painted across your flesh like -”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t,” L snapped loudly. “Don’t even start.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio balked at the comment, brows raised in confusion. “...You… Are we going to discuss this? At all?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nope. Don’t wanna hear your bullshit excuses, or whatever you’re gonna say,” L growled. “So we’re not gonna fuckin’ talk about it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio stood silently and watched L toss the clothes into several piles. Just as the incredibly tense silence was beginning to feel unbearably awkward, he spoke up again. “You aren’t angry?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I’m fuckin’ furious,” L corrected with a mean laugh. He finally straightened up and locked eyes with Dimentio. “You don’t deserve me </span>
  <em>
    <span>allowing </span>
  </em>
  <span>you to stand there and keep breathing -”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And yet, you are concerned for my safety?” Dimentio interrupted with a meaningful glance at the selected disguises. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L threw the garment in his hands onto the bed and stormed over to Dimentio. “I’m concerned for </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” he shouted. “‘Cause I’m not out to be collateral damage in whatever karma is about to bite you in the ass.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You assume I am at fault for the present situation?” Dimentio snapped back. “Mr. L, I will readily admit that I secured your one way ticket to the afterrealm, but I </span>
  <em>
    <span>also </span>
  </em>
  <span>awoke - mere hours ago - with no more awareness or knowledge than yourself.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L leaned down less than an inch from Dimentio’s face and waved his arm towards the darkening sky outside. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Is that </span>
  </em>
  <span>or is it </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>the fuckin’ void outside?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The back of Dimentio’s head hit the wall behind him when he tried to back up. “You’ve seen it close enough to tell,” he muttered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So, what exactly happened to ‘when shit starts goin’ wrong, don’t worry, I got a fuckin’ plan’?” L demanded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio let a laugh slip out of him. “I am quite certain I phrased it differently.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L’s fist hit the wall just above Dimentio’s head, and the magician almost dropped to the floor with a surprised shout. He managed to recover enough to remain upright, but L did not allow him any additional space to get his legs back underneath him. “We did not die yesterday,” L said, his voice dropping low. He was starting to sound desperate. “I saw one world at </span>
  <em>
    <span>least </span>
  </em>
  <span>bite the dust. After you killed me, how long it take you to kick it?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio’s gaze drifted to the floor as he considered the string of events. “...three weeks,” he decided. “Possibly less.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L jabbed his finger at the window again. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>That </span>
  </em>
  <span>should be closer.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The void had devoured nearly all but the castle itself,” Dimentio corrected, taking on the same stressed and hushed tone. “Our own sanctuary was crumbling beneath our feet. They must have put a stop to it. I cannot fathom how - I left Luigi and the heart behind. There should have-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>left it,” L snipped. “Are you puttin’ together yet how this is your fault?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio made an affronted, disgusted sort of sound. “Oh, certainly, Mr. L - </span>
  <em>
    <span>thank you </span>
  </em>
  <span>for pointing out the flaws in my grand scheme! Allow me to gather a needle and thread, and I will happily stitch together the gaping maw that I have decisively placed into the sky again.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L’s hand flinched towards the magician’s masked face - almost an attempt to cover his mouth, but a little more like he just wanted to smack Dimentio. “You said to me,” L enunciated in a clear, low voice. “If things get bad and out of control. You had an idea. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Shit is bad</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“My plan was the heart!” Dimentio defended. “Which was-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, so Plan B!” L shouted, finally stepping back with a dramatic wave of his arms. “You fucked that shit up, </span>
  <em>
    <span>clearly</span>
  </em>
  <span>, so what do we do now?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio took a deep, steadying breath and pressed his hands flat together against his nose. He paused to collect himself before he spoke again. "What we </span>
  <em>
    <span>desperately </span>
  </em>
  <span>need to do is locate the Chaos Heart - and my power that I left with it - to gain some control of this situation. I will stress to you, </span>
  <em>
    <span>once again</span>
  </em>
  <span>, that our solution lies with Luigi."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L scoffed at him. "Once again, </span>
  <em>
    <span>absolutely not</span>
  </em>
  <span>."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio's gaze flicked over L, and he struggled momentarily to keep anger from distorting his expression as he chased after him. "And where did you suddenly come across this chivalrous moral compass? You are curiously defensive for someone who is little more than a stranger to you."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L leaned heavily on the doorway, blocking Dimentio from following him out of the bedroom into the rest of the small house. "Okay, look," he said plainly. "One of the two people in this room is a backstabbin' </span>
  <em>
    <span>murderer</span>
  </em>
  <span>. That's who doesn't get to make decisions about other people anymore."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio's brow raised and he folded his arms over his chest. "I thought you were uninterested in having this conversation."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You're right," L agreed immediately, in a no less scathing tone. "You find any food?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I did not," he declared. L turned away abruptly to walk towards the kitchen, and Dimentio followed quickly, closing the bedroom door behind him with unnecessary force. "The clock is ticking, Mr. L, like a mechanical bomb in an unsuspecting playground. Tell me - why do you demand answers and solutions and deafen your ears to them?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L continued walking away from him into the kitchen. The fridge and freezer were, indeed, empty. But the cabinets were stocked, however sparsely, with canned soups and vegetables and glass containers of dry pasta. "Are you blind or just stupid?" L called over his shoulder.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio huffed as he watched L check the dates on a few items. "We have managed to snatch a second chance from the cruel and carnivorous jaws of fate. I implore you not to waste it."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Oh, I'm not gonna," L said tensely. "But, I'm </span>
  <em>
    <span>also </span>
  </em>
  <span>not gonna let you fuck me over again.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The void is </span>
  <em>
    <span>hungry</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Mr. L,” Dimentio insisted, raising his voice just slightly. “And we do not have the luxury of falsely promised protection by its delusional master this time.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, the count wouldn’t take us back?” L quipped, taking on a more casual stance as he started to search for cooking utensils. “Oh. No. You think the heroes put a stop to that. So, he isn’t behind this one?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio scoffed. “I doubt it sincerely.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L made a baffled face at the pots and pans that was more directed at Dimentio. “Then, somebody new got their hands on it. Probably whoever dumped a bucket of shadow snakes on the castle, right?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The Inklings’ escape is an incredible, </span>
  <em>
    <span>impossible</span>
  </em>
  <span> feat of magic,” Dimentio said tensely. “I would not take this power lightly. We cannot comprehend what would have been able to becken them here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Probably the same goon that sent ‘em lookin’ for you,” L pressed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Silence.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L turned away from the cabinets to raise an eyebrow at Dimentio, and was met with a stoic frown. L whistled in a disappointed sort of way. “So close, you were </span>
  <em>
    <span>so close </span>
  </em>
  <span>to tellin’ the truth about something.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio continued to stare silently, and after several moments, L let out a deep sigh and turned back to the task of cooking. “There’s a pasta maker under here,” he said, in a startlingly calmer voice. “These must be homemade.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I am not hungry,” Dimentio stated.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, starve then, I’m eatin’,” L said off-handedly. He selected one of the pasta containers, then ran water into a pot big enough for two servings anyway. “Go lose the circus getup while you’re busy pouting.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The silence stretched on for several minutes longer, then just as the water began to boil, L heard a door behind him open and shut with a bang. He snorted at the small outburst and focused on cooking. While the cute little bowtie shapes were boiling, he started another pan for the sauce. There was nothing in the fridge to make a fresh batch with, but L was able to coax some life into one of the canned sauces with some of the wide array of spices stashed in the overhead cabinets.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Food’s ready, come eat!” L called over his shoulder as he switched off the burners.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>No response immediately met his ears, not even the sound of movement in the house. With a frustrated sigh, L walked over to the bedroom to get Dimentio himself. “Dim, I got bad news - eating is mandatory for being alive. Get out here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio was not immediately visible in the bedroom, leading L to curiously step inside and look around more closely. It would not be entirely out of the question for Dimentio to hide under or around the furniture for no reason at all, but that did not seem to be the case. L checked the closet with even greater confusion, then a growing sense of dread as he found the bathroom also empty.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L glanced around the main living area for an answer that was simply not there. There were no other doors in the house, only a narrow set of stairs that lead to a visibly open loft. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Realization struck him, and L stepped over to the front door. He took a sharp breath, twisted the handle, and opened it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He had locked that door.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Son of a </span>
  <em>
    <span>bitch</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” L swore under his breath. He slammed the door shut behind him as he ran out into the rapidly darkening woods to search for the escaped magician.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>-----</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Abscuro and Lyrinn walked together along the castle grounds as they checked in with various posted inklings and d-men on their assigned tasks. Large numbers of new souls had been recruited to their cause - promised life and freedom in Abscuro’s rapidly expanding kingdom, as long as they served his will when he called for them. Just as many, of course, were reluctant to accept his generous offer, and those that had been captured remained imprisoned wherever they could be secured en masse until Abscuro found an adequate way to correct them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The conquest of Dark Land was their first success in the waking world beyond the gates. Lyrinn reported that while they had successfully captured the king and large amounts of his army, much more had escaped, including all his heirs. Scouts were working on pinpointing their new locations, fearing retaliation, but the inkling guard had established quite a foothold in the ruins of Dark Land, and turned Bowser’s former castle into a stronghold for their own use.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bowser, certainly would be making no use of it anytime soon. Abscuro happened to spot Antasma sitting by the edge of a glittering fountain, and with an excited grin he dismissed Lyrinn and made his way over.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Have we finished our fun so soon, darling?” Abscuro said brightly as he came closer, to avoid startling the bat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Antasma was seated on the ground with his tail curled under him, propped over the lip of the fountain as one clawed hand idly played in the cool, reviving waters. “I suppose,” he answered, sparing Abscuro a glance and a small smile. “I did not vant to overdo things.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Abscuro took in the bat’s appearance as he delicately sat down on the fountain’s edge beside him. His hands and arms were absolutely covered in blood, and a few splatters stained his face and cloak. Abscuro smiled softly at him. “Nonsense, my dear. I restored you to life, did I not? If your toy happens to perish at your hand, I can just as easily return him to you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A laugh slipped out of Antasma, almost like he couldn’t help himself. “You have quite a taste for violence,” he said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then, it seems we have that in common, as well,” Abscuro said. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Antasma laughed again, considering that with a small smile. “...If you do heal him, you vill need to replace the vines that ‘eld him.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Abscuro’s face shifted to a note of concern. “Did they not hold? You weren’t harmed, were you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I did not need them,” Antasma said plainly. He shifted his other hand beneath his cloak and pulled out a sharp, yellowed tooth almost as big as his finger. It was still bloody around the roots when he held it up and offered it to Abscuro. “He vas already veak from your soldiers, I presume. He ‘ad a lot more bark than bite.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Abscuro laughed softly as he gingerly took the large tooth from Antasma. “Well, I’m thrilled you enjoyed yourself… I’ll heal him into a nice, fresh canvas, if you decide you’re still unsatisfied.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Antasma turned to face him a little more fully, watching Abscuro turn the extracted fang idly in his hands. The two sat in comfortable silence for a moment, then Antasma frowned down at his own reflection in the water again. “Vhat is it you vant from me?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Abscuro glanced over to him, but decided to return his gaze to his hands. “I only want to spoil you,” he said again. “You’ve done an enormous favor for me. So few have ever heard my calls for help. And no one before you decided to answer them.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Forgive me for being skeptical,” Antasma said gruffly. “But, you do not strike me as somevone who is generous vithout cause.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Abscuro nodded slowly. He set the tooth down on his lap and tucked some of his sparkling hair behind his ear. “I do understand. I would not expect you to trust me. You gave your heart away once, and had it broken.” His vines twisted and swept on the ground in an uneasy way, and his voice softened when he continued. “I suppose it struck a nerve with me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Antasma turned more fully towards Abscuro, but he declined to press the obvious question. With a careful sigh, Abscuro kept talking anyway. “I concealed myself within the book to escape the void. The prison that has held all the rest of my people. But this world rejects us, and I knew that simply stepping over would cause me to wither into nothingness.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The book made you safe?” Antasma asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It made me something </span>
  <em>
    <span>real</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Abscuro confirmed. “That’s all I needed, to borrow a bit of realness so I could exist here. And that bought me time to secure a more permanent vessel, so I could live and thrive as myself - not just exist.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Abscuro shifted his hair again, and some of the smaller blooms fell away from his head, crumpling and wilting as they hit the ground. The whole ring of flowers in his hair grew steadily smaller and less vibrant. “I entrusted the book to someone dear to me. Our arrangement was the same - he was to find a proper vessel to transfer me into, and then I would be able to protect us both and do the same for him.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Antasma shifted himself on the ground so he could turn entirely towards Abscuro. “Things did not go as planned,” he guessed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They rarely do,” Abscuro confirmed with a sad smile. “When everything went silent, I was worried that something went wrong. The first dozens of times strangers opened the book and prodded my memory for lost secrets in dead languages, I assumed the worst. I thought I had been stolen from him. Then, one day, I heard his voice again. He had managed to find me once more.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Antasma’s eyes narrowed, and a familiar sick feeling started to coil in his gut. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Abscuro bit hard into his own lip to compose himself before he went on. “I was met with… such… </span>
  <em>
    <span>anger</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Frustration. Disgust. I know that he heard me, and he </span>
  <em>
    <span>ignored </span>
  </em>
  <span>me. Then I felt the suffocation of wards and spells as he tried to </span>
  <em>
    <span>silence </span>
  </em>
  <span>me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Antasma’s lip twitched - almost, but not quite, a snarl. “So you vould stay put.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Abscuro nodded. “He had betrayed me. He sold me like a cheap trinket to buy his own freedom from someone more powerful, then he left me to rot. Then he started trying to quiet me, for fear I would persuade someone to rescue me and have some mind to go after him.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t you?” Antasma said immediately. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A bark of hysterical laughter slipped out of Abscuro. “Oh, I will find him,” he promised, a dark edge to his voice. He sighed sadly and carefully stood up from the fountain, clutching Bowser’s fang to his chest. “But, I think it will have to wait. My kingdom has served an empty throne for far too long. I have found myself with an opportunity to reverse our plague of nothingness, and take our rightful claim of the world that banished us. I want my kingdom to flourish and thrive like it never had the chance to before.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Antasma pushed himself up off the ground and followed Abscuro further into the courtyard, too curious and intrigued to let the conversation end there. Abscuro swept his arms out across the garden, and some of the gnarled, black trees groaned as they stretched further overhead and sprouted a flurry of new leaves. “Look at this power!” he marveled. “Jaydes could have done this all along! She chose to let her kingdom wallow in death and despair. She could have plucked my kingdom from the void whenever the mood happened to strike. She could have freed me from that book the moment it fell into her grasp.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Antasma watched strange, glowing flowers bloom along the path beside them, and caught himself growing entranced with the display. “You are trying to resurrect the land of the dead,” he clarified. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Abscuro laughed brightly. “I suppose that is a way to phrase it. But, why not? Why allow places like this when it can be vibrant instead? Why can’t everything be beautiful?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It is a nice thought,” Antasma admitted, his gaze travelling to the flowers blooming in Abscuro’s hair again. “Surely there must be reasons.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, of course!” the king agreed. “Selfishness, greed, control, cruelty… The list could go on forever. But </span>
  <em>
    <span>why </span>
  </em>
  <span>is irrelevant. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Should </span>
  </em>
  <span>is the question - and if we can change this darkness and dreariness, if we can build something brilliant instead, </span>
  <em>
    <span>shouldn’t we</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Despite himself, Antasma allowed a delighted smile to cross his face. “...ve should,” he agreed. “Vhat do you need to build this kingdom of yours?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Abscuro stopped walking abruptly, spinning around to face Antasma. “...Are you offering to help?” he asked, in a pleading way, unable to contain the excitement in his voice.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Antasma took a step back, but he agreed “I might be. It depends vhat you vould ask ov me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, darling, you’re wonderful. I wouldn’t think to ask anything else of you. You’ve already-” Abscuro stopped himself suddenly, and drummed his fingers along the fang he was still holding as he thought carefully. “...you walk through dreams,” he said softly. “Isn’t that how you called to me in the book? And how you spoke to Luvbi?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It vas,” Antasma confirmed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Abscuro grabbed Antasma’s hand excitedly. “Could you use it to find something I’m searching for?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Antasma’s ears laid back as he thought carefully. “In theory,” he explained. “But, I do not know who betrayed you. It is easier to find something if I know vhat I am searching for.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Abscuro bit into his lip again, and the vines below them swept scattered leaves around as they whisked back and forth like a cat’s tail. Suddenly, Abscuro’s eyes lit up. “What about my heart?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Antasma blinked. “...</span>
  <em>
    <span>your </span>
  </em>
  <span>heart?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It was stolen from me - ages ago, when the whole kingdom was devoured,” Abscuro hastily explained. “It’s broken into pieces, but some of it is </span>
  <em>
    <span>here</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Could you use that to find what remains?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Antasma grinned. “Ve can find out.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>"My pride has left me shaking<br/>Oh, I can't believe that<br/>You could be deceiving</p><p>My teeth are rotting out my moth<br/>From Something Sweet<br/>To poison I could live without.<br/>I know you'll die without me."</p><p>-Cunning Not Convincing, Get Scared</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Quite the Problem</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The sky was a much darker hue than Luigi reasonably expected it to be when he jogged after Peasley into the thin woods outside the lab. He found himself squinting between the treetops searching for the sunset - wondering if, perhaps, he had drastically lost track of time. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The general location of the sun was more or less impossible to gauge beneath the growing blanket of dark, oppressive storm clouds that were beginning to gather overhead. A small but firm rumble of thunder could be heard as well, adding to the bundle of nerves tightening in knots around Luigi’s stomach.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Looks like rain soon…” Luigi suggested timidly as he finally caught up to Peasley’s brisk pace.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Peasley glanced up to the sky with a more or less skeptical expression, but he did frown disapprovingly at the abrupt change in weather. “Odd…” he muttered. “Clear skies lit our path here. And it’s hardly the season for a storm.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi audibly swallowed his hesitation. “It’s already getting pretty dark,” he hinted. “We won’t be able to make it all the way to Chuckola Woods while it’s still light out.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Peasley’s face flinched. Not in a mean way, but enough to silently indicate he was displeased with the notion. His gaze shifted over to his companion, and flicked briefly over the poltergust he had acquired. “Does this device function as a torch? Or it only looks the part?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tor… the flashlight?” Luigi clarified clumsily. He turned the strobulb apparatus over in his hands a few times, and gave the button a few experimental clicks. “It’s a regular light, yeah. Does a few other things, too, though.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>To clarify, Luigi stopped toggling the beam on and off to charge the strobulb and demonstrate what an expansive area the resulting flash would light. Then, he flicked the switch under his index finger to switch the beam to its blacklight setting. It didn’t do much in the quickly fading light besides add some eerie color shifts to the trees, and settle some of the deeper shadows into somewhat clearer shapes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think the last setting was a bit better for a light,” Pealsey joked with a teasing smile.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi let a quick snort slip out. “It’s a blacklight,” he explained. “It can reveal some objects that are invisible or, like, hidden by some kind of illusion. Same sort of magical property that allows some ghosts - boos, especially - to turn invisible or go through walls or, you know, whatever else… they do.” Luigi trailed off suddenly and cleared his throat. “I’m rambling, </span>
  <em>
    <span>heh</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Sorry.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, don’t apologize!” Peasley said brightly. He turned more fully towards Luigi with a wide smile, and his pace finally slowed a bit to fall in step beside his travelling companion. “It’s quite interesting to hear! You’ve never told me as many tells of your ghost-hunting thrills.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Heh</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Thrill is a word…” Luigi agreed, his hands nervously wringing the handle of the light again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It must be terribly exciting,” Peasley pressed gently, tapping his elbow against Luigi’s shoulder. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi coughed awkwardly again and scratched the back of his neck. “It, uh… sure does get your heart racing, I guess…” He swallowed nervously again and nodded towards the quickly darkening sky. “Look, if these shadow things are anything like ghosts, we shouldn’t be out here in the dark.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Peasley’s face fell to a sort of confusion. “This contraption is part of your ghost-wrangling, isn’t it, though?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, it is. But, if they don’t -” Luigi stopped walking abruptly. “I said </span>
  <em>
    <span>if </span>
  </em>
  <span>they’re ghosts. We don’t know that. We shouldn’t go up against something we don’t -”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s what we’re going to find out!” Peasley reasoned. He stopped a few paces away from Luigi and offered his hand. “We have a light for the dark, but surely we can be there before the rain comes if we keep our pace.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We should go back to Castle Town,” Luigi said, as firmly as he could with his voice shaking.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Peasley’s hand lowered and the amusement started to fade from his expression. “Castle Town is further out of our way,” he said, in a more careful and diplomatic tone. “We would be wasting time to properly investigate this threat. Time my people may not have.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We can’t investigate anything if we walk into an ambush unprepared,” Luigi argued. “Look, I - I get it! I wanna figure this out too, I’m worried about my brother, and my home! But, we should be careful. Maybe we can take some of your guards with us? Gather some more supplies? At least go in the daylight so we can </span>
  <em>
    <span>see </span>
  </em>
  <span>what we’re investigating, right?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Peasley frowned deeply and glanced around the thin sprawling of trees. All the foliage around the two was beginning to shake and sway in the wind as it picked up, and the feeling and smell of rain hung heavy in the air. His resolve began to crumble a bit - silently indicated by Peasley crossing his arms and irritably tapping his foot on the ground as he scrambled to come up with a final argument. “Isn’t your beach home nearby?” he finally asked the forest floor.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi blinked at the question. “Um… I wouldn’t call it, uh… It’s not really on the </span>
  <em>
    <span>beach</span>
  </em>
  <span> -”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Away from the tourist spots, that’s right,” Peasley agreed flippantly. “But it’s still along the Oho coast, I thought it wasn’t far from this edge of the plains?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi spun on his heels and glanced around the treeline. “No, no, you’re right, I’m not far from the lab. Maybe, um… half an hour?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It would be closer than the castle,” Peasley noted with a shrug and a questioning look. “We could rest there through the storm, and be closer to the woods for an early morning investigation?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi let a sigh of relief slip out and nodded urgently. “That sounds - yeah, I think we should do that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi led the way down the winding, dirt-worn trails that were more commonly-taken routes than they were any sort of legitimate path. Peasley’s attitude did not take long at all to bounce back to his usual charm and enthusiasm, and he started to once again gently pester Luigi for more details of his latest ghost-hunting adventures. The timid hero usually found those particular escapades more stressful than exciting, so he continued to patiently deflect Peasley’s endless questions and redirect the conversation to the prince’s own adventures. Luigi mentally braced himself for a long night of this pattern. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Considering patterns, Luigi found himself distracted briefly by the sudden awareness of how silent the surrounding area had become. It was dark enough now that he had to shine the flashlight between the thinly spread tress to decide their path, but none of the usual resident creatures seemed to be scurrying around. Not once did the beam of light land on a shy animal searching for a hiding spot, and the howling wind was the only thing rustling the branches overhead.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi frowned at the treeline around him, flicking the light in random directions. "It's, uh… a little quiet around here," he noted, hoping the apprehension in his voice was not too apparent.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Peasley glanced around as well, though he was struggling to keep his long hair out of his eyes just as much as he was struggling to make out any shapes in the fading light. "I suppose it is. Though, animals have instincts for these things, don't they?" he reasoned carefully. "They've probably taken shelter from the storm. You made a good call that we do the same."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I feel like we should have at least </span>
  <em>
    <span>seen </span>
  </em>
  <span>something," Luigi muttered. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Peasley pondered that a moment as he combed his hair out of his face and gathered it into somewhat of a ponytail to hold it at the nape of his neck with one hand. Then, in a low and careful voice, he said, "Do you feel like something is near us?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi stopped walking abruptly, and a familiar cold chill struck his heart. "...Yeah," he realized. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Peasley halted as well, letting his hair fall and drawing his sword in one fluid motion. "Something might be hiding from us," he suggested, suddenly serious.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Somewhat clumsily, Luigi switched the blacklight back on and made a few quick scans of the surrounding area. The light </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>settle on something that was not a tree or rock, but whatever it was moved quickly, and the blacklight was less than excellent at discerning details in the dark.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Come forward, coward!" Peasley shouted. Luigi </span>
  <em>
    <span>shush</span>
  </em>
  <span>ed him urgently, but the prince ignored him and readied his sword in a defensive posture. "If a fight is what you're seeking, then show yourself!"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Don't provoke them!" Luigi hissed. He fumbled with the light in his shaking hands before he managed to get the regular beam turned back on. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It landed on a face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The figure ducked back into the shadows before Luigi could discern many details, but it was enough to tell it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>definitely </span>
  </em>
  <span>one of the shadow creatures. It was enough for Peasley to decide the same, and he demanded again, "Show yourself, foul beast!"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi grabbed Peasley by the elbow and tried to tug him in the direction of the beach house. "Let's go, we need to leave," he said quickly. "We're almost home, come on, come on."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I won't have them plotting an ambush on us," Peasley snapped as he jerked free of Luigi's grasp. "Steady the light - I'm going to be rid of this."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi flicked the light in random directions, trying to catch a glimpse of the shadow again. A chilling sort of cackle drifted between the trees, and the way it rebounded around the area indicated quite clearly how fast the voice’s owner was darting around them. Luigi tried to focus very intently on breathing and not hyperventilating. He swallowed once, then let the beam go dark as the strobulb charged up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The familiar </span>
  <em>
    <span>whir </span>
  </em>
  <span>of building electricity seemed to drag on longer than it usually did - but it always felt that way with an unseen enemy lurking just out of sight. It was only marginally soothing that Peasley moved himself defensively between Luigi and the low snickering sound. “Luigi, the light!” he snapped urgently. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As the </span>
  <em>
    <span>whirr</span>
  </em>
  <span>ing noise stopped, reaching a peak of energy gathered, Luigi held his breath just a moment more to really pinpoint the sounds of the slinking creature. He shoved Peasley out of the way with one hand and released the switch with the other, flashing a blinding pulse of light that encompassed the immediate circle of trees and illuminated deep into the distant underbrush.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The creature wasn’t quite as close as Luigi feared, but it was much too close to the strobulb for its liking. It reeled back from the light with a twisted and pained scream, clawed hands covering its eyes as it writhed in place and finally managed to stumbled back behind the trees. It had vanished completely in the time it took Luigi’s vision to re-adjust to the darkness.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Peasley’s sure footing never faltered, and he repositioned himself with his back pressed to Luigi’s. “More of them,” he hissed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I saw at least three,” Luigi confirmed, shining his light around. It was getting horribly difficult to breathe. “I think we’re surrounded.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Light,” Peasley demanded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi only managed a nod, and charged the beam of light again. It was difficult to track multiple shadows moving quickly around them, but he wanted to catch at least one of them directly in the beam again. Perhaps with a better shot he could gauge if the light was only disorienting or if it was doing some sort of damage.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Another bright flare covered the area, just in time to reveal the creature slithering dangerously close to Luigi’s feet. It dropped to the ground with its arms over its head as he stumbled clumsily backwards from it - tripping and falling when Peasley moved suddenly to switch places with him and drive his sword through the creatures back. It screeched in pain, writhing in a horrible way as the sword impaled it to the ground. Then its body contorted in such a strange way it almost became like smoke as it twisted around and finally </span>
  <em>
    <span>away </span>
  </em>
  <span>from the sword. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The first creature darted back into clearing, taking a swipe at Peasley with its sharp talons while he was dazed and distracted. Peasley was not one to be caught off-guard, and he was just as quick to free his sword from the ground and parry the attack. With each quick swipe of his blade, he drew pale white blood across the creature’s arms, but whatever small amount of pain it may have inflicted did little to deter the relentless attack. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The creature on the ground scrambled up onto its knees, tossing long and matted hair from its face. It was bleeding from the front and back of its shoulder, yet the wound cost it little to no loss of mobility in its arm. It swiped at Peasley’s legs, then tried to grab onto him and tackle him onto the ground.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi dashed forward and let the strobulb’s next charge flash as close to the creature’s face as he could manage. The shiver that rippled through it alongside another agonizing scream was the only thing that finally allowed Peasley to wrench the thing off of him. It didn’t get up quite as quickly as it had recovered from the sword, though the light did not appear to inflict any lasting physical damage. When it sat up again, it sprung for Luigi.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The controls faltered in his hands again as he switched over to the blacklight. Unfortunately, this creature did not seem to share that vulnerability with boos, and it tackled into Luigi and knocked him to the ground completely undeterred. Claws swiped blindly at his arms as he struggled to push or kick the creature off of him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Peasley continued to dance just out of the other creature’s reach, but it was proving just as difficult for him to land a single hit on his opponent. White blood was splattered across the grass with every blow exchanged between the two. Then, as Peasley quickly burned through his stamina, drops of his own dark yellow blood began to also color the ground. He remained unwaveringly focused on the battle at hand, not even allowing concern or pain to cross his face, but his determination blinded him briefly to the third shadow that was still slinking along the treeline.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi happened to spot the smaller figure, and likely it was only panic that prompted him to shout “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Peasley!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was just enough warning for Peasley to whirl around and sidestep the small creature aiming to pounce on him, but he was quickly becoming overwhelmed by taking on two of the creatures at once. They seemed to dart around him in somewhat of a pattern, aiming to corner him between them, or slip behind him for a sneak attack.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi focused on his own imminent demise and wrenched his arm from the creature’s bloody grasp. He clicked the poltergust on, and the sudden recoil of the machine springing to life almost knocked the creature in its head. It managed to dodge, but its long hair was quickly swallowed up by the mechanical hose.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The creature shrieked in frustration - relinquishing its hold on Luigi to instead fight against the thing trying to yank its hair out at the root. It provided enough of a distraction, at least, for Luigi to roll them both over and get on his knees. However, the poltergust’s suction was not pulling the creature any closer to capture as it would a normal spirit. In fact, its hair becoming entangled in the machine felt no different than if Luigi’s perfectly real and material shirt sleeve had gotten lodged in the mechanism. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let go! Let </span>
  <em>
    <span>go!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” the creature started to growl in a high, shrill voice. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It startled Luigi a little more than it should have that it spoke his language, but he managed to regain himself. He shifted to plant his feet firmly on the ground, then with a strained grunt he used the hold on the creature’s hair to drag it towards him, up over his head, and crashing down into the forest floor. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He only got one good swing before it managed to grab onto the poltergust’s nozzle, and he realized very suddenly why he had been trained to go for a ghost’s tail instead. The creature didn’t manage to wrench free, but it steadied enough he could not toss it overhead again, and then took a desperate swipe at the connecting hose.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The resulting wound was shallow, but a hiss of released air was enough to let Luigi know he wasn’t about to suck anything into the containment chamber anytime soon. He repositioned his grip instead around only the strobulb portion of the handle. It was somewhat awkward, as it wasn’t meant to be held that way, but it was enough leverage that when he stomped on the damaged hose and yanked hard he was able to break the few screws holding the handle pieces together and free the strobulb from the rest of the contraption.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The creature tried to jump up, and immediately stumbled upon the rather sudden discovery that its hair was still painfully crammed into the suction nozzle. It instead grabbed for Luigi, and he was quick to kick it onto its back and flash another bright beam straight in its face. It was a weaker flare, without being given as much time to charge, but at point-blank it was more than enough. The creature howled and writhed, clawing at its eyes, and its twisting form started to take a billowing smoke sort of nature again. The clumsy struggle did not free its hair from the machine, and it failed to pick itself back up, so Luigi left it to its struggle and dashed to Peasley’s side.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Rain was beginning to pour, building too quickly from a steady drizzle to an outright downpour. It made the grass slippery to run on and the whole area even more impossibly dark. A strike of lightning here and there provided some glimpse of the chaos, but it was only really enough to show how quickly Peasley was becoming overwhelmed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi let the strobulb charge up to its full power again before his next strike. The resulting flash did at least stagger the smaller creature, providing Peasley enough room to skirt around it and gain some better footing. The other creature had its eyes trained on Peasley and back to Luigi, so it shook off the blindness much more quickly. It managed to get entirely too close to Peasley, and when the prince finally shoved the creature off, it cost a pair of nasty, bleeding stripes down his arms. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi threw himself at the creature to knock it off balance, grappling one arm around its shoulder. After the smoke shifting tricks, Luigi was somewhat alarmed at how tangible and solid the creature was. He half expected it to vanish in his arms like a steam cloud - or perhaps mist for how frigid cold it was. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The creature screamed and clawed at Luigi’s arm, then reeled backwards and slammed Luigi’s back against a nearby tree in an attempt to dislodge him. Luigi stubbornly held on by a fistful of its layered clothing, and somehow managed to flick another small flash out of the strobulb. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A much louder and more pained shriek tore out of the creature. It dropped to its knees and rolled Luigi over its head - throwing him several feet away. Luigi had to scramble to get his hands and feet back under himself, and it was only by a matter of seconds that Peasley’s sword was faster than the creature lunging back towards him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Its scream was horrifically different when the sword struck through its stomach this time. Blood had audibly lodged in its throat, and for once its motions hesitated in a stuttering, jerking sort of motion. Peasley kicked the creature off the end of his sword, and when it collapsed backwards in a convulsing heap, he brought his sword down hard again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A </span>
  <em>
    <span>squelch </span>
  </em>
  <span>snapped over the rainfall, and with another harsh shudder, the creature fell still.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The smallest one finally threw itself back into the fray - jumping onto Peasley’s back the same way Luigi had attacked previously. Peasley struggled with his sword, but by the time he dislodged it from the corpse, the creature’s limbs and tail were so entangled around him that he couldn’t manage a proper angle to land a strike on them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi had the strobulb charged before he could even consider getting back up onto his feet, but the flash did no damage this time. The creature had sunk its shark-like teeth deep into Peasley’s neck, and the prince’s shoulder was shielding its face from the light. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Peasley staggered dangerously, and very nearly collapsed from the sudden rush of blood loss. Adrenaline kept him on his feet just long enough for Luigi to rush towards him. He took the flashlight in both hands and swung it hard like a baseball bat, and the bloody impact sent the creature tumbling off of Peasley. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The creature stumbled when it tried to get back up, clutching the side of its head where white blood was pouring through its hair and down its face. Luigi crossed his fingers it was concussed, and readied another flash while he had a split second to breathe. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>An ugly scream tore through the rain, and Luigi realized in a rush of horror it was the creature trapped by the poltergust. It had been hacking its long hair off with its sharp claws, but had decided to abandon that endevor in favor of just yanking what remained stuck out of its scalp. It looked bloody and painful, but it was working a lot faster.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Peasley seemed to have the same panicked train of thoughts. He was sprinting across the grass faster than Luigi could flinch, and the prince jumped towards the creature and knocked into it with one knee and the point of his sword. Unfortunately, he didn’t have quite the strength to drive his blade into the ground and pin the creature in place, and with another whirl of shadows it was able to tear its body free of the sword again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At least some part of the creature was ghost-like in nature, because the shadow trick failed again to free the rest of its hair from the contraption. It continued struggling anyway, the best it could while bleeding out and trying to dodge Peasley’s increasingly clumsy stabs, and eventually it was able to tear itself loose. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi aimed the strobulb towards Peasley’s attacker, but his own adversary was less dazed than he had anticipated, and in his distraction it was able to knock the flashlight out of his hands. The resulting flash illuminated the ground more than anything else. Luigi was left grappling empty-handed with the creature, and very quickly losing. Evidently, the creatures had a great deal of night vision, because their attacks did not relent or even hesitate while Luigi and Peasley both failed to even keep their feet solidly planted on the ground. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi ended up tumbling onto the ground and wrestling with the creature on the wet grass and mud. The thunderstorm provided a few brief glimpses of light, but not nearly enough to gain a fair assessment of the situation.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It did, however, give Luigi an idea. He kicked hard into the creature’s stomach to throw it off of him and scrambled backwards on the ground as he yanked the worn gloves off his hands. Electricity was hard to gather on a good day, and nearly impossible when he wasn’t focused, but he managed just enough to throw a wave of sparks across the clearing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The blue jolts illuminated the area significantly more than the flashes overhead, and the creature stopped merely a foot away from Luigi to reel violently backwards like it had landed on hot coals instead of the cool grass. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The edge of the spark radius grew weaker as it moved away from Luigi, but it was still strong enough to stun both the other creature </span>
  <em>
    <span>and </span>
  </em>
  <span>Peasley. The light vanished just as quickly, and Luigi almost didn’t hear Peasley’s pained shout over his own startled scream. He pressed his palms together and felt the buzz of electricity building as he scrambled up onto his feet again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>More angry and pained screams echoed through the area, so Luigi tried to focus on the sound of the sword </span>
  <em>
    <span>whizzing </span>
  </em>
  <span>through the rain. His hands broke apart and a much larger jolt of lightning tore erratically through the woods, even burning the grass and weaving between the trees. It missed Peasley this time, but the creature also managed to dodge the wave by dissolving into smoke completely into the ground. When it regathered into its original form, it was behind Peasley and latched onto him before he could spot it. In his panic, Peasley’s swings started to get more frantic - which let the creature find a small opening to get its hands on the sword.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The lightning vanished too quickly, and a sickeningly familiar shriek rang through the darkness.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>PEASLEY!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Luigi screamed. He rushed towards the prince, hurling sparks from his fingertips faster than an attack could reasonably charge, but the lightning did reveal the scene in fleeting glimpses. The creatures were both rushing towards </span>
  <em>
    <span>him</span>
  </em>
  <span> now. The sword. The blood. Too late.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>One or both of the creatures collided with Luigi and too quickly pinned him to the ground. The electricity was horrifically more painful to them when Luigi managed to grab onto them, but he couldn’t quite gather the strength to struggle away from them. Their claws tore violently into him, and in a few short minutes he was completely overpowered. Luigi grit his teeth and pressed his palms together again - hoping he could potentially throw them off with one more well-charged attack.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Everything exploded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The blast radius tossed Luigi several yards away, and he collapsed back to the ground when he crashed into a tree. His ears were ringing painfully from the noise. Very slowly, he pieced together that the small crater he was looking at - burning still as the rain struggled to put out the flames - could not have possibly been his thunderhand. Perhaps </span>
  <em>
    <span>actual </span>
  </em>
  <span>lightning had struck the earth, felling a few of the surrounding trees and anything that was too unfortunate to be nearby.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi tried to struggle up onto his hands and knees, and very quickly tipped back over onto his face with a dizzy groan. The pounding in his head was making his vision swim. His limbs kept trembling violently even once he relented and gave up trying to sit upright.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As the rain finally began to smother out the ring of flames, darkness started to settle over the area again. Luigi could just barely make out a figure standing from the trees and pacing slowly towards him. Fear squeezed his pounding heart, and he tried desperately to get up again, but his limbs failed to even respond. So he continued to lie face-down in the grass as the fires slowly faded. He realized, vaguely, that his vision was fading more than it was actually growing dark, but there was nothing he could really do. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nothing but give in and fall unconscious. So, he did.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>-------</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>As Dimentio struggled to catch his breath, every inhale rattled his lungs with a desperate sound somehow louder than the pouring rain. A simple explosion should not have drained him so quickly. But, he knew his magic was limited, and he should not have pressed his luck.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He hadn’t been wrong, however. The shout he’d heard had been Luigi’s. There was no doubt that electrifying pulse of magic had been his as well. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio quickly surveyed the clearing again as he paced carefully through it. There was no sign of the two inklings that had been attacking Luigi except for what remained of their clothing burning quietly on the ground. The magical blast had devoured them completely. Unfortunately, the attack had missed a third inkling Dimentio hadn’t realized was here, but it seemed he had been bleeding out on the ground for quite some time, and was quite intent on remaining a corpse. There was another creature nearby - some poor bean that had gotten mixed in the scuffle, and was pinned to a tree by a bloody sword. He, too, was bleeding profusely and quite corpse-like in behavior, so Dimentio assumed him equally dead.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>An abrupt onset of nausea and dizziness overtook Dimentio, and for a moment he feared he might faint. Actually, considering the amount of energy he </span>
  <em>
    <span>certainly </span>
  </em>
  <span>did not have to spare for such a magical endeavor, he was likely just on the cusp of unconsciousness. He needed to get moving if this brilliant mistake was actually going to be worthwhile.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi was so still and quiet when Dimentio approached and knelt by his side, he feared for a moment he had accidentally killed the human as well. Thankfully, Luigi still shivered at his touch, and when he rolled the man over onto his back he felt the hollow rattling of his lungs as he breathed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio carefully scooped Luigi off the ground into his arms, and just that small exertion of effort made spots dance across his vision. He managed to blink the world back into something akin to focus, then nearly tipped over on top of Luigi. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The safe house was not far, but it could have been on the other side of the planet and would have been exactly as feasible to reach. He would end up collapsing from exhaustion if he tried just walking there, nevermind trying to carry Luigi. Dipping further into his currently non-existent magical reserves for teleportation was a terrible idea, but it seemed like the only option on the table. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio snapped his fingers, and the abrupt location shift made the world spin an alarming and sickening way that immediately told him that endeavor had been a mistake. He missed the house by several yards, but he did manage to land on his feet and not fall over. And in a stroke of luck, his absence had not gone undetected - L was outside looking for him. The man was shouting at him before he closed the distance between them, but it was mostly a distant ringing in Dimentio's ears. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You hear me?" L snapped - and finally, he did. "Where the fuck were you? I said stay -"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio lurched forward suddenly, and would have fallen if not for L reaching out to brace him. The magician clumsily pushed Luigi's body into L's arms. "Found him nearby," he mumbled in a strained voice.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"What did - </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck</span>
  </em>
  <span> -" L swore. He was flipping rapidly between anger and panic, but he at least settled on the motion of transferring Luigi's weight out of Dimentio's responsibility. "The hell did you do? What happened?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Inklings. In the woods," Dimentio said, as carefully as he could. He realized distantly that his limbs were trembling uncontrollably. "Might be more. Couldn't tell."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Might be more?" L repeated. He turned to glance wildly around the surrounding area. "Where are they? You lose 'em?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Dead now," Dimentio managed. "Just ones… I saw…"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L paused and turned back to Dimentio. "What? You're not making sense, speak up!"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio mumbled something mostly incoherent, then he abruptly pitched forward again. L's hand on his arm and his startled shout caught him more than his legs this time. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Hey - </span>
  <em>
    <span>hey! </span>
  </em>
  <span>Don't you dare fuckin' faint!" L shouted, trying to shake the magician's shoulder a little. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Assuredly, Dimentio did not want to faint in front of L, but he couldn't really help it at this point. His knees gave out under him again. With L preoccupied carrying Luigi, his cloak slipped from L's hands and he collapsed onto the ground. He heard some more muffled noises and felt L trying to jostle him back awake, but it was only seconds before the dark noise swirled again and he slipped unconscious. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Aware, aware, you stalk your prey<br/>With criminal mentality<br/>You sink your teeth into the people you depend on<br/>Infecting everyone, you're Quite the Problem</p><p>-Wolf in Sheep's Clothing, Set It Off</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Second Nature</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The rain was still drumming heavily on the rooftop by the time Luigi came to. The wind howled outside, and flashes of lightning cast an eerie atmosphere over the bedroom before allowing it to slip back into darkness.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A </span>
  <em>
    <span>crash </span>
  </em>
  <span>of thunder startled him more alert, and he sat up with a panicked gasp. The shift from the muddy grass to a soft and clean bed alarmed him almost as much. Luigi’s eyes darted around the small, quaint bedroom, and he gradually recognized the simple wooden dresser, the novels propped on the bedside table, and the subtle floral pattern embroidered on the quilt covering his lap. Luigi squinted at the worn fabric in an almost accusatory manner. He’d left this quilt at his vacation house in Beanbean. The little stitched flowers were not roses, but the golden thread had made them remind him of Peasley.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi glanced around the bed and threw the quilt towards the footboard. “...Peasley?” he hesitantly called.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The empty bedroom did not answer him, and there was no sound from the adjacent bathroom door or from further within the small house. Luigi frowned, confused. Peasley could be suffocatingly clingy at times, and it was unlike him to wander away. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi’s heart began to beat unsteadily, as he began to doubt he had come here </span>
  <em>
    <span>with </span>
  </em>
  <span>Peasley and began to wonder how he got here at all. The last thing he recalled was a terrible explosion out in the nearby forest. The more he considered it, the more he felt certain it hadn’t been the result of a lightning strike. Luigi felt something pressing at the back of his mind that insisted the magical blast was familiar, but he could not place exactly why. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi swallowed a noisy gulp of air then swung his legs to the floor. The hardwood lurched under his feet in a way that made him nearly fall over. He braced his hand on the end table and sucked in air through his teeth until the dizzy spell finally passed. He still felt extremely unsteady, but eventually he stopped feeling like he was going to fall face-first on the floor.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He stumbled to the near wall and fumbled for the lightswitch. It clicked noisily as he flicked it up and down two or three times, but the lights remained stubbornly dead. Luigi made a distressed sound and felt his way along the wall to the door instead. The knob refused to twist. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi paused, confused, and fumbled for the lock in the dark, but he couldn’t feel the deadbolt that was supposed to be on this side of the door. He jostled the handle again, then more forcefully when it still remained stuck in place. Luigi’s breath became more labored and shallow as he felt around for the missing deadbolt again. He struggled with the handle one more time. His heart began to race. The door did not budge.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With a sharp, frustrated sigh, Luigi </span>
  <em>
    <span>thunk</span>
  </em>
  <span>ed his head against the door, then he pushed away from it and dashed towards the bathroom. He threw weight shoulder-first against the door, but it swung open before he could even get his hand on the knob and almost made him fall over. He managed to stay on his feet at least long enough to slam the door shut behind him, wincing at the loud noise it made. He pressed his back against the cool wood and turned the lock for good measure.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The lights over the sink bathed the room in a dim glow, and Luigi’s eyes darted around the way the deep shadow fell behind the shower curtain. It took him a little too long to decide it was not hiding a person. He tried to move past that idea and force himself to breathe evenly. His heart pounded so hard it felt like it was trying to break through his ribcage. The noise was hammering in his ears louder than his own erratic breathing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A few moments passed, and Luigi’s frantic heartbeat remained the only noise in the tiny space. The panic gradually subsided and he found himself able to breathe just a touch easier. As Luigi’s eyes flicked around, meticulously eliminating each corner and cabinet as some intruder’s potential hiding spot, he finally noticed the shirt lying on the ground.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi pushed hesitantly off the door and bent down to gingerly pick up the dense, black shirt. He examined the material as he turned it over in his hands and held it up for a better look. The fabric was heavy and thick, like something protective a construction worker or mechanic would wear, but it was worn nearly threadbare at the elbows and cuffs. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Another garment caught his eye - a thin black mask lying on the countertop. Luigi hesitantly approached the counter, dropping the shirt to the ground, but as he reached towards the mask to inspect it, he was distracted by his reflection in the mirror. Streaks of fog on the surface blurred the reflection underneath, but Luigi could tell something about it was not quite right. Experimentally, he moved his hand towards the mask again, and saw his reflection copy the movement. Not mirror, </span>
  <em>
    <span>copy,</span>
  </em>
  <span> delaying behind him by several seconds.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The odd motion startled Luigi, and he rubbed his eyes to make sure his vision was not playing tricks on him. The fuzzy, distorted silhouette did not become any clearer, and when Luigi lowered his hands the reflection lowered the wrong hand first. Luigi’s mind conjured a rapid succession of theories and images - moments mirrors had alerted him to invisible ghosts trying to sneak up on him in the past - and his heart picked up speed again. Frowning uneasily, Luigi pulled the cuff of his sleeve over his palm and wiped it through the fog on the mirror.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His reflection erased with it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi startled backwards with a shout and flung himself at the door. The deadbolt lock spun easily, but the handle would not turn no matter how he tried. His heart pounded almost painfully hard in his chest, making it a struggle to breathe as he fumbled with the rigid doorknob.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>From the corner of his eye, Luigi saw what remained of the image in the mirror move again. It stood up straight and reached a hand towards him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi backed up a few steps and kicked the lock as hard as he could</span>
  <span>.</span>
  <span> The door broke open to the interior of an enormous, black hallway instead of the bedroom. The abrupt change only heightened Luigi’s panic, but not enough to make him reconsider sprinting out of the room. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His frantic footsteps echoed around the cathedral-like architecture in an unsettling way, and Luigi’s mind started scrambling for answers. A variety of giant mirrors lined both sides of the hallway, but Luigi began to doubt his assumption that the fuzzy-faced figures inside the frames were ghosts. King Boo had tormented him with illusions before, and a chase down an endless hallway was not out of character for him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But, King Boo’s illusions had always been new experiences, and Luigi felt increasingly certain he knew this hallway. Not in a reassuring way, but in a new panic that insisted beyond general confusion that he </span>
  <em>
    <span>should not be here</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As he ran down the endless corridor, the echo of the vaulted ceiling returned his footfalls to him in a disorienting way that made the sound come from everywhere. Somewhere in the noise, Luigi realized there was a sound that was not familiar to him. Familiar, but not logical - it sounded like the </span>
  <em>
    <span>click-clack </span>
  </em>
  <span>of high heels chasing behind him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi whirled around so quickly he almost fell over, but he saw nothing behind him in the empty blackness. The door he had run out of was also gone, and the hallway stretched further than he could visibly discern both behind and in front of him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He paused for a moment, gasping loudly to catch his breath as he glanced around the hallway. The white fire in the candelabras cast eerie flickers on the mirror-frames, and it made it difficult for Luigi to tell which ones were his own reflection and which ones were faceless shadows moving independently and ducking out of sight.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi whined anxiously and rocked on his feet. The hallway was taking him nowhere fast, but it would do him no good to sit still. There were other ways in and out of this area, though. There was a trick to the mirrors - someone had taught him years ago how to find the hidden doors behind them. He ran to the closest one, saw a blurry reflected shape dart out of sight, and quickly sprinted past it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Most of the mirrors housed some unsettling image that did not want to be seen, but eventually he found a mirror that showed only a blank hallway - not even his own blurry reflection. Luigi quickly ran his hands along the edges of the intricately-carved frame, and could indeed feel the seams of a hidden doorway. He tried to pull the door open, even bracing his foot on the wall for better leverage, but it must have been locked from the other side, because the mirror did not budge from the wall. His fingers couldn’t manage a good enough grasp to try forcing it open, so he sprinted down the hall in search of another. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Each time Luigi ran, the sound of </span>
  <em>
    <span>clicking </span>
  </em>
  <span>heels started up again, and sounded a few paces closer to him every time. But Luigi only caught sight of empty darkness over his shoulders, and even the mirrors did not reveal any other figure in the hall. Three more hidden doors were exactly as stubborn as the first, and Luigi began to hyperventilate as the familiar feeling of being </span>
  <em>
    <span>trapped </span>
  </em>
  <span>closed in on him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The last door Luigi tried was also locked, and he almost abandoned it just as quickly. He paused, however, when he noticed the reflection where his hands met the frame. There had not been a figure reflected in this mirror, which is why he had thought to check for a door. But he could see another fuzzy figure present, failing to mimic him with complete accuracy the same way the reflection in the bathroom had faltered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi whipped around to the hallway behind him, tensed to fight. However, the whole area was empty and silent save for the noisy pounding of his heart. Luigi breathed unsteadily as he glanced around, even checking the other mirrors. The shadowy reflections continued to duck out of sight when he looked at them directly, and none of the images showed anything standing near to where Luigi was standing. Luigi took another uneasy glance around, confused, then turned to double check the reflection that had appeared.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Someone else stood in the mirror.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi shrieked and lept backwards with such force that he bumped into a mirror across the hall behind him. The doorway concealed behind it swung open so easily at the impact that Luigi almost tripped and fell on the floor. He managed - just barely - to keep his feet under him, and he scrambled through the narrow passageway</span>
  <span>,</span>
  <span> away from the terrifying hall of mirrors and into the small, concealed room.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sleek, black interiors transitioned to rough stone walls, and Luigi stumbled into a disheveled bedroom. The gray light of an overcast sky drew him immediately to the tall, open windows lining the walls, and Luigi rushed over to look outside. There was no balcony or landing outside the window, and Luigi could tell even through the dense fog that he was several stories off the ground.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His breath lodged in his throat again as he muttered in confusion. The halls and these rooms were deep in the interior of the castle. He shouldn’t be looking out a window, much less one this high up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi turned back to the room as his eyes adjusted and glanced around for another exit. There was no door aside from the standing armoire that had been broken open and, disappointingly, did not conceal some hidden escape. Two more mirrors were among the lavish decor in the room, one built into a disheveled vanity and one standing upright in the corner, both smashed to millions of glittering shards across the floor. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi glanced between both frames and the glass shrapnel, searching for another haunted reflection. There was no figure displayed in the small, reflective pieces, not even himself. A sticky black substance covered most of the shrapnel, so it was difficult to even see that. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi’s eyes followed the trail of broken glass and disheveled furniture to an ornate carpet lying in the middle of the room. Very little of the rug had not been ruined by the pool of blackness. Luigi found himself unable to look away. He stepped closer to investigate, then just as quickly reeled back as the strong scent of blood met his nose. He clapped a hand over his face to block the scent and muffle a distressed sound. The blackness was blood, all of it was blood. He was looking at a murder scene.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It couldn’t have been, though - it still smelled fresh, and it still looked wet. The viscous liquid still seeped out from under the rug and travelled through grooves in the wood. It spread slowly across the floor, covering more of the ground than it already did, and Luigi drew in a stuttering gasp as he saw it move almost purposefully towards his feet. He tried to back away, but found himself frozen in place. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Someone grabbed his hand. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi bolted awake in bed with a terrified shout, gasping for air as if he had just been underwater and not lying on a firm mattress. He looked wildly around the dark room, what little he could by flashes of lightning filtering through the drawn curtains. He mentally checked off familiar landmarks as he spotted them - the quilt, the books, the furniture style, the room's layout. The bedroom was the same as the first time he had awoken here, down to the creepy way the weather made the shadows shift in the darkness. The first time, Luigi pieced together slowly, he must have been dreaming. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Antsy to get up and investigate his surroundings, Luigi tossed the warm quilt off and swung his legs off the bed. He hesitated a moment, then placed his feet very carefully on the wooden floor. The smooth planks did not shift and warp under him this time, so Luigi let a sigh of relief escape him and decided it was likely that he was properly awake this time. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As his weight shifted to stand up, his leg buckled, and Luigi stumbled forward to catch himself on the dresser. A terrible pain pulsed down his leg, and a similar stabbing sensation erupted in his shoulder when he tried to lean more on his arms instead. Luigi clenched his teeth and quietly endured until the pain began to gradually lessen. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He stumbled his way slowly to the lightswitch, leaning hard against the wall, and held his breath in anticipation. The overhead lamp clicked on, illuminating the room in a warm, pleasant light. Luigi was able to breathe a lot more steadily now that he could properly see the room. He could also see the cause of his sudden pain - his overalls had been cut off about halfway up his thigh, and his knee and shin were covered by different types of bandaging that were both discolored in places from the bleeding wounds underneath. Luigi shifted his arms experimentally, and he felt the odd pull of medical tape that was likely keeping more bandaging on his aching shoulder.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi's mind wandered back to the fight with the shadow creatures, the damage they had done, and the explosion that had ended it. That explained his wounds, but not how they had been treated, or how he had gotten safely to his vacation house. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi frowned uneasily and glanced around the room again, now that he could see it a little better. The closet door sat open, and some of the dresser drawers hung slightly ajar. Clothing had been removed from both in a rather careless manner, and sat more or less in a heap near the foot of the bed. He might have kicked them off during his sleep if they had been resting on the bed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They might not have been - another shirt was discarded near the open bathroom door where it had been intentionally carried away from the others. Another black shirt had fallen on the tile floor just past it, and Luigi could just make out a scrap of dark fabric lying on the countertop. It looked unnervingly similar to the foreign clothes he had discovered in his nightmare, but he couldn’t tell if he was being paranoid or if it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually </span>
  </em>
  <span>an identical scene. Ultimately, he lost his nerve to go check.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Instead, Luigi went back to the bedside table and collected a heavy metal flashlight from the small drawer. He would have felt better with a hammer, but to his recollection there wasn’t one in the house, so the flashlight would do.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi held his breath when he tried the main door, and relief struck him like a wave of cold water that the doorknob turned easily in his hand this time. The door creaked only slightly as it opened, but the floorboards were more merciful in the amount of noise they contributed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The kitchen light and a floor lamp in the sitting room were still turned on, so Luigi was at least able to see clearly what he was walking into. The house seemed empty and quiet, which would have been a relief, but Luigi seriously doubted that was the case. Someone else had to be here, or he could not have gotten here.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He crept cautiously into the room, glancing over his shoulders and around corners, and only keeping his back turned to spots he had most recently checked. The kitchen was more brightly lit, and seemed more obviously empty, so Luigi edged to his left to look around the sitting room. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio laid on the couch.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi’s heart leapt into his throat so suddenly he nearly choked, and he did have to catch himself on the armchair when he staggered backwards. His legs trembled and threatened to give out underneath him. The familiarity of the explosion in the forest finally clicked in his mind, and dropped like a lead weight into his stomach. He just barely managed to repress the urge to be sick.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio did not stir or even flinch, he was so deeply asleep. Luigi actually had to strain his vision to check if the magician was even breathing. He was, just very faintly. Luigi could tell by the way the heavy blankets just barely shifted to follow the hollow rise and fall of his chest. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As Luigi crept hesitantly closer, he could make out the very quiet sound of Dimentio’s breath. It was nearly drowned by the insistent noise of Luigi’s heart hammering erratically. His trembling hands tightened around the flashlight handle in a white-knucked grip. He took in a steadying breath and raised the weapon over his head.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He hesitated a second too long, and his breath released in almost a gasp. Slowly, Luigi lowered the flashlight, then even more slowly he managed to pry his gaze away from Dimentio. He looked at his hands like he wasn’t entirely sure what he was doing, because he really wasn’t. Luigi had absolutely no intention of finding out why Dimentio had taken him from the forest and brought him here, but violence was going to get him no answers. If anything, it was only going to make a mess.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi sucked in another unsteady breath and ran his fingers through his hair. His hands were still trembling. He made the mistake years ago of letting Dimentio corner him alone. Dimentio had not noticed him escaping the bedroom, and likely would not wake if he exited the front door. Perhaps he couldn’t make it all the way to castle town for help, but the lab was closer, and at least it would have a way for him to contact someone - even if only the professor.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi startled from his racing thoughts when the floorboards suddenly creaked. He glanced down at his own feet, and was perplexed to find himself standing on the sitting room rug and not the offending hardwood. Before he could check behind him for what made the noise, the perpetrator had a hand over his mouth and arm around his neck. Luigi flailed reflexively, but his injured leg buckled under the sudden weight shift, allowing his attacker to drag him backwards towards the bedroom door. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once inside, Luigi finally managed to get his feet back under him and successfully ducked out of the arms that restrained him. He ended up falling to the floor, but the stranger caught him by one arm, trying to wrestle the flashlight out of his hand. Luigi struggled desperately for the weapon, but when he locked eyes with his attacker he saw his own face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The shock caused the flashlight to slip through Luigi’s fingers, and without it Luigi fell on his back. He scrambled backwards by weakly kicking the floor to put some distance between himself and the stranger as quickly as he could. The other man opted to back up and slam the door shut instead of trying to grab him again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, easy, easy!” the stranger started saying, his hands raised in a defensive position. “Chill out, okay? You’re fine, everything’s fine.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi tried to jump back up, but another sharp surge of pain pulsed through his leg and drew a loud cry from him that put that plan to a quick halt. “Fuck, lay off!” the stranger snapped. “You wanna bust it back open?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He took two quick steps towards Luigi, and the panicked shout that leapt from Luigi’s throat was just enough to make him reconsider. The man held up his hands again, and this time he dropped the flashlight to the ground with a dense </span>
  <em>
    <span>clunk</span>
  </em>
  <span>. “Okay, okay! Look - I’ll back off, okay? You gotta cool it, though, I’m not stitching you up again!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi balked at that statement, and the urgency of the situation settled momentarily as the stranger allowed him a few breaths to process that. Luigi floundered for words a few times, which the stranger very patiently allowed, until he finally managed “...who…?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The stranger nodded understandingly. It was a reasonable enough question. “Uh… you can call me L,” he supplied.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A dry lump caught in Luigi’s throat that might have been his heart leaping out of his chest. He swallowed it nervously, and concluded “You’re… you’re Mr. L.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L’s eyebrows raised an inch in genuine surprise. “...you know me,” he stated, more than asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi shook his head. “Not… I heard, I mean… Mario had said… some things…” Luigi’s voice trembled when he sucked in a quick gasp. “B-but, I thought… aren’t we…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know,” L interrupted. He didn’t drop his hands yet, but something in his stance shifted so he appeared a lot less on edge. “Lemme stop you right there - I don’t know. Dimentio tends to be the one who has some bullshit riddle up his sleeve for everything. I was kinda hopin’ he’d be up before you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi’s eyes flicked from L to the closed door behind him and back again. L shook his head before he could say anything else. “He’s not gonna hurt you,” he promised, with a more serious edge to his tone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi flinched, and he felt his expression harden a touch. “He </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” he said firmly. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Look </span>
  </em>
  <span>at me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L obediently flicked his gaze over Luigi - eyes lingering on the bloody bandages - before meeting his stare evenly again. “His claws ain’t that sharp,” he said calmly. “Forget the teeth marks. He couldn’t have slashed you up like that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Somehow, it was more irritating than reassuring that the connection did not quite line up. But looking over himself again, Luigi realized the bandages all seemed to be covering bleeding wounds that aligned with the damage he had taken from the shadow creatures. “Where’s Peasley?” he decided to ask next.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L blinked owlishly at him. Luigi bit hard into his lower lip to stop it from quivering. “Prince Peasley, he was with me in the woods. Those things attacked him, too. What happened to him?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L shrugged and shook his head, his expression somewhere between completely baffled and apologetic. “Dimentio only had you with him,” he offered. “And he was out like a light soon as he handed you over. Maybe he saw your friend, but he -”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He mi- He might still be out there?” Luigi snapped, his voice strained with panic. He rolled onto his hands and knees and managed to push himself off the ground, but he staggered almost immediately. L moved reflexively to catch him, but Luigi reeled back from him and ended up leaning heavily against the dresser as he tried to will his legs to stop shaking. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, listen to me, take it easy,” L said firmly. His hands hovered between them as if he thought he would have to catch Luigi in a moment, but he let Luigi maintain the distance between them. “You’re not going anywhere on that leg anytime soon, especially not out in that storm.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Peasley is still out there,” Luigi snapped. His voice broke.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L winced at his tone. “...I heard you,” he said, softer. “But, I’m telling you. Dimentio thinks there’s still inklings prowling around, too. You’d be dead before you get near him. Get me?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi frowned angrily. He understood, but he did not want to. “Can you go look?” he pleaded. L made an extremely reluctant face, so Luigi spit out “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Please</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He’s hurt, he’s hurt - I can’t just leave him out there -”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Breathe,” L interrupted. Not angrily, but extremely firm. “I don’t trust Dimentio as far as I can throw him. And I just walked into you about to bash his skull in with a flashlight. I’m not leaving you two alone with each other.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi hissed through his teeth and dug his nails into the old wood. He opened his mouth, and L cut him off. “Don’t. I get it, okay? But, there’s no point wandering around in the rain, when you’re hurt, and inklings could still be out there. Give it a few hours, at least. When Dimentio wakes up, we’ll ask him where your friend is. Yeah?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It slowly became an increasing labor to breathe normally. Luigi felt the strong urge to be sick and had to press it down. He jumped when L’s hand rested on top of his. “...you good?” he prompted, grey eyes full of concern. “Not gonna faint on me?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi debated the possibility very seriously. He took in a noisy gulp of air, and the nausea passed. “I’m good,” he said quietly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L seemed to genuinely relax at that. “Okay. You want food while we wait on sleeping ugly?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was hard to muster up a full laugh, but the corner of Luigi’s mouth twitched towards a smile. He fidgeted anxiously and glanced around the room instead of meeting L’s pointed stare. “I shouldn’t… I mean, I, uh… I’m not…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m not gonna make you eat,” L said, taking a step back. “But, I’m gonna heat up pasta anyway. And it’s there if you get tired of starving.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The jab was lighthearted and warm. It did not make Luigi want to trust L any more, but it did take the edge off his nerves a bit. Enough for him to realize he was still very tired and hungry. “Um… yeah, okay,” he hesitantly agreed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“C’mere, I’ll help ya,” L offered. “Don’t want you to split your other ankle.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi was reluctant to lean on L’s arm, so he declined, but L did watch him closely to make sure he did not trip or fall on the way to the kitchen. His limp was getting worse a lot faster than it was improving. Unfortunately, it was probably true that he was not going anywhere anytime soon. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So could you<br/>Tell me how you're sleeping easy<br/>How you're only thinking of yourself<br/>Show me how you justify<br/>Telling all your lies like Second Nature</p><p>-Wolf in Sheep's Clothing, Set It Off</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. More than a Warning</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The savory smell of pasta filled the kitchen as L reheated a batch over the stove top. The familiar aroma made Luigi realize how long it had been since his last meal, and that he was starving. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi tapped his heel anxiously under the table as L cooked. The way he moved - busy, quick, but still maintaining an air of calm - felt eerily familiar. It made Luigi uneasy, like watching a recording of himself he did not remember. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His mind drifted to the mirror in his dream, and the reflection that did not quite match. He shivered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The rocking of the chair caught L’s attention. “Cold?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi shook his head urgently, and L allowed the silence to hang as he turned back to his task. Luigi stole a glance at the couch where Dimentio slept, checking if he had stirred at the sound. Dimentio’s hand twitched where it draped over the edge of the couch, and he mumbled softly into the pillow. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A faint </span>
  <em>
    <span>clack </span>
  </em>
  <span>made Luigi jump when L sat a bowl of bowties in marina in front of him. “Relax, he’ll be out for a while,” L assured him as he sat opposite Luigi with his own bowl. “Hasn’t moved since I dropped him there. Usually the wind wakes him up - I’ve never seen him sleep this hard.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi idly pushed some noodles around with his fork as he mulled over that string of thoughts. An uneasy knot twisted in his stomach. “...you two are close, huh?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L squinted as he finished chewing a bite of food. “Whatcha mean?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi shrugged in an apologetic way, hunching his shoulders. “You seem to really know him. I only met him once, so… I don’t know…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Huh. So, you don’t-” L cut himself off and tapped his fingers against the table. He pursed his lips, then finished his thought anyway. “You don’t remember being me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi narrowed his eyes. “...I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L nodded slowly and fixed his gaze on the table. “Alright, that’s fair.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you- I mean… do you remember being </span>
  <em>
    <span>me?</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Luigi asked with a note of concern. “Is that how you got in my house?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Silence smothered the room as L processed the idea. He scrunched his nose in a confused sort of way. “...</span>
  <em>
    <span>your </span>
  </em>
  <span>house,” L repeated.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Um… well, beach house, technically, I guess…” Luigi said, poking anxiously at his food again. “I don’t stay here often.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi startled at L’s bark of laughter. “You’re kidding. What are the </span>
  <em>
    <span>odds?</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi shrugged and managed a nervous chuckle. “Oh, I thought… I assumed you remembered it? No, wait…” He chewed on his lower lip thoughtfully, then rested his forehead in his hand, slightly embarrassed. “...no, I got this place afterwards. I guess you wouldn’t know it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nah, we just stumbled on the place and broke in,” L said with a dismissive shrug. “You should hide your keys better.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi frowned. “I’ll keep it in mind.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L jabbed his fork into his bowl with an unnecessary amount of force and stared at the pasta in an accusatory way. “So, you made the pasta, too, then.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. “It’s still okay, right? I don’t remember the last time I was-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, your cooking’s fine. It tastes like </span>
  <em>
    <span>my </span>
  </em>
  <span>cooking.” L leaned back in his chair, rocking on two of the legs. “Huh. Guess I learned it from you, then.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi’s face and heart twisted with anxiety. “...</span>
  <em>
    <span>do </span>
  </em>
  <span>you remember being me?” he quietly asked again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L shook his head and went back to eating. “Definitely not. Some shit is starting to come back to me. I know I </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>you. Wouldn’t say I am </span>
  <em>
    <span>now</span>
  </em>
  <span>. But, if I think about it too much, it sorta stops adding up.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...what doesn’t add up?” Luigi pressed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L stared at him for a moment. Then, he took a deep breath and waved his fork towards Luigi. “Where’s your scars?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi blinked, looking sincerely confused, then his eyes locked magnetically onto the burn scars across L’s forearms. “What scars?” he asked anyway.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L leaned across the table, sliding his arms towards Luigi as he tugged up his sleeve. Luigi couldn’t help recoiling a bit. “Very last thing I remember…” L said slowly. “Is getting stuck in a box and lit on fire.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A tense silence hung in the air. L watched his face, gave the panic time to pass, then calmly went on. “Where’s your scars?” he repeated. “You finally heal up?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi’s heart pounded hard, and something lodged in his throat. He </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>remember a box. “I never… had wounds like that…” Luigi mumbled, voice shaking.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L nodded and reclined back in his seat, tugging his sleeve back into place. “See, two’n two doesn’t make four here. We’re missing some pieces.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi dropped his fork with a </span>
  <em>
    <span>clatter </span>
  </em>
  <span>and dropped his head into his hands. “Okay, look, I- here’s what I know. I know I </span>
  <em>
    <span>shouldn’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>be looking at you. You’re not a real person.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ouch,” L grimaced.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Stop-- don’t. This isn’t funny,” Luigi snapped, looking up sternly. “You’re not real. You’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span>. I just have a </span>
  <em>
    <span>hole </span>
  </em>
  <span>in my memory, and I thought--for a </span>
  <em>
    <span>long </span>
  </em>
  <span>time--that it was just a few hours. I had it in my head that N- Nas- Nastasia </span>
  <em>
    <span>killed </span>
  </em>
  <span>me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi stood up suddenly, knocking the chair over in his haste to be anywhere else. L barely managed to reach over and catch it. Luigi only managed to limp a few steps away before the ache in his leg persuaded him to lean on the kitchen bar counter instead. “Mario and Peach finally figured out she was controlling me. They told me these things that I did, and it sounds- it’s nothing like me! </span>
  <em>
    <span>They </span>
  </em>
  <span>didn’t even recognize me. It was like I just turned into somebody else.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, you </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” L coolly said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi spun on him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nastasia hypnotized you.” L said carefully as he settled back into his own seat. “Well, me? I dunno, that’s where I start gettin’ confused. But, when she got her mind control claws in you, I figure </span>
  <em>
    <span>that’s </span>
  </em>
  <span>where I remember waking up - no idea who I was. Who you were. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Whatever</span>
  </em>
  <span>-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi shifted unsteadily. His injured leg wanted him to sit back down, but the rest of him needed to keep moving. “So, what… okay - you have </span>
  <em>
    <span>total </span>
  </em>
  <span>amnesia?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L considered that carefully, then shrugged. “I guess. Close to it, anyway. Vague stuff started coming back to me, like the cooking, but I never remembered anything really important. Didn’t know my name, even - Mims called me L, ‘cause it was on the hat.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A gasp jolted Luigi. His hands flew to his hair. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>The hat,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” he wheezed out. “Where’s my hat? Did you put it somewhere?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You didn’t have it,” L said flatly. Luigi made a distressed sound and staggered reflexively towards the door. He heard L call after him “Where are you going?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I need it,” Luigi breathed. He leaned heavily on the door as he undid the locks. The door opened only a crack before L reached over Luigi’s shoulder to slam it back shut. Luigi staggered backwards in shock and caught himself on the bar again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Chill out, it’s just a hat,” L told him calmly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L twisted the deadbolt again, and Luigi’s eyes darted from the lock to L. “...why won’t you let me leave?” he demanded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L recoiled at the question, and his brow furrowed. “Are you serious?” he snapped. “You could hardly walk over here. You’re not goin’ back in that storm tonight, you’ll just get yourself killed.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What does that matter to you?” Luigi blurted out. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L scoffed and gave Luigi a perplexed grin. “Okay. Call me selfish, but I’m still trying to figure out what the hell’s going on. We might need your help with that. Maybe we can even help you out, too.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A shiver rippled through Luigi’s shoulders, and his face paled over. His gaze flicked cautiously over to where Dimentio still slept. His heartbeat picked up erratically. “I don’t need any help from you two,” he managed quietly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you sure?” L snapped. “Cause you already almost got killed once today. We’re the only reason you’re alive now!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And my friend is still </span>
  <em>
    <span>- hck </span>
  </em>
  <span>- </span>
  <em>
    <span>hurt </span>
  </em>
  <span>out there!” Luigi shouted. His voice broke, and he choked audibly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I heard you, okay?” L said more firmly. “We’ll look for your friend, but until you can walk more than five feet, you’re gonna stay in the </span>
  <em>
    <span>house</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Y-you’re not - </span>
  <em>
    <span>hck hck </span>
  </em>
  <span>- keeping me </span>
  <em>
    <span>prisoner </span>
  </em>
  <span>here!” Luigi stuttered out. He choked again and staggered back from L to cough loudly into his elbow. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nobody’s trying to!” L insisted. “You’re hurt, and you’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>stupid </span>
  </em>
  <span>if you think you’ll last ten seconds in the woods like that. What, are you sick now, too?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L reached towards him, and Luigi reeled back from his hand with a strangled “Don’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>touch </span>
  </em>
  <span>me!” His voice was choked and garbled as it dragged painfully out of his throat. Luigi braced one arm on the counter and coughed harder to dislodge the feeling. He doubled over as a stabbing feeling seized his chest, and braced his shaking hand there. When he coughed again, a solid wetness dripped from his mouth.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi rubbed the back of his hand against his mouth. He expected to be coughing up blood. Instead, he saw a smear of gooey blackness dripping off his hand. His stomach lurched at the sight. Another fit of painful coughing overtook him. He choked on and spit up a viscous wad of the sludge that landed on the floor with a wet </span>
  <em>
    <span>thlop</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A high-pitched ringing filled his ears, and Luigi’s knees trembled before giving out underneath him. L’s quick reflexes alone kept him from collapsing completely to the ground. Luigi realized, gradually, that L was saying something to him and jostling his shoulders when Luigi failed to respond. He couldn’t make out the words. L’s voice sounded hazy and far away, as if Luigi was underwater.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi’s heart pounded erratically again, and every frantic heartbeat felt like someone punching his ribcage. He held onto L’s arm with a white-knucked grip. His other hand fumbled to press against his chest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The room spun as L scooped Luigi up and carried him into the kitchen. Luigi forgot entirely how to balance himself when L set him on his feet. L had to help him get both elbows propped on the countertop before stepping away. Cabinets slammed frantically open, glassware clinked together, then water ran in the sink. L’s voice remained constant over the shuffle, still only a string of noisy nonsense. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When he started coughing again, Luigi had a much harder time breathing. He deepened his cough to dislodge more of the mysterious gunk from his airways. Despite how much he spit onto the counter, it did not feel like any less was lodged in his chest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A glass of water arrived on the counter beside Luigi. He took it in both trembling hands, trying to avoid dropping it, and took a few very careful gulps. Over the rim of the glass, he spotted a movement in the living room. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi locked eyes with Dimentio.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The cup slipped from Luigi’s hands. His knees buckled and he followed it to the floor. L was just a moment too slow to catch Luigi that time - equally stunned to see Dimentio suddenly sitting up on the couch.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A violent tremor overtook Luigi and he retched on the floor. A puddle of thick blackness spread across the old hardwood. The sight of it sent Luigi’s mind back to the desolate castle bedroom covered in blood. He choked and sputtered, vomited up another surge of blackness, and finally his throat cleared enough for him to choke out a </span>
  <em>
    <span>wail</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The horrified sound that tore out of him finally broke the barrier of disoriented panic, and the rest of his hearing snapped into clarity. His own ragged coughing filled his ears, along with two shouting voices in the background. Dimentio staggered around the counter into the kitchen, but L moved between him and Luigi. The two continued arguing, and L’s voice raised drastically as Dimentio’s eyes shifted to the mess on the ground. The magician tried again to approach. Luigi fell hard against the cabinets in his haste to scramble away. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L planted his hand on Dimentio’s chest and shoved him out of the kitchen. Dimentio managed to catch himself on the kitchen table, but just barely.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“-Just making things worse!” L’s voice broke into recognizable speech so suddenly it made Luigi jump. The familiar sound caused just enough relief to push down a bit of panic.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, make up your mind!” Dimentio said indignantly - but he did settle into one of the askew chairs. “Would you like me to help or not?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Stirrin’ it up isn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>helping</span>
  </em>
  <span>!” L shouted back. He startled out of his next thought when Luigi started coughing again. Luigi tried to pull himself off the ground, but his grasp on the cabinets faltered, and he collapsed back to the floor. He met L’s concerned gaze, and very intentionally flicked his eyes to Dimentio. L took the hint. He turned entirely from Dimentio to kneel beside Luigi and squeezed his hand in a reassuring manner. “Hey, hey - can you hear me? You with us? Breathe, Luigi, you gotta breathe.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi couldn’t manage a response to that. He settled for squeezing L’s hand in return and taking a few deep gasps of air.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio craned his neck in a vain attempt to see around L. “I would imagine he is trying.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L shot him a quick glare, but refocused on Luigi. He hooked an arm around Luigi’s shoulder, and Luigi sucked in a gasp through his teeth. The bandaging on his shoulder did not feel like it had survived the debacle. L carefully rubbed Luigi’s back, minding the wound. It eased Luigi’s struggle to breathe, even if only slightly. “There - easy, easy… I gotcha, you’re okay. You’re okay, hear me?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi nodded urgently, and squeezed L’s hand harder as extra confirmation. He coughed again, hard enough that the stabbing sensation jabbed through his ribcage. L sat quietly and continued rubbing his back until the fit passed. He managed not to spit up any more blackness this time. When he was able to breathe steadily again, Luigi stared up at Dimentio. “...what did you do to me?” he pronounced carefully.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L turned on Dimentio with a dark glare, and quickly got to his feet. “What did you do?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio’s face twisted in confusion. “Nothing </span>
  <em>
    <span>harmful</span>
  </em>
  <span>, if that is what you are implying. I saved you, and you are quite welcome, by the way.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L jabbed a finger at the black sludge dripping off the counter. “This isn’t you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It isn’t, my magic does nothing of the sort,” Dimentio said quickly, holding his hands up defensively. “I </span>
  <em>
    <span>found </span>
  </em>
  <span>him. The inklings would have killed him, so I intervened and brought him here. That was all I did.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You did </span>
  <em>
    <span>something</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Luigi seethed as a tremor overtook him. “You attacked me, you hit - your magic </span>
  <em>
    <span>hit </span>
  </em>
  <span>me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>I </span>
  </em>
  <span>attacked the inklings that were trying to kill you,” Dimentio corrected firmly. He stood from his chair and approached Luigi. “It is no fault of mine if you were-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L’s fist struck Dimentio’s face with a sharp </span>
  <em>
    <span>crack</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Dimentio staggered back and almost fell to the floor. He managed to catch himself on the table without knocking it over, and held a gloved hand to the side of his mask. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You wanna try again?” L snarled angrily.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio gave him a cold look, and remained silent. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L advanced on Dimentio another step. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>What </span>
  </em>
  <span>did you do to him?” he demanded again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A slow and deliberate breath rattled Dimentio’s chest before he answered. “This is </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>my magic,” he said again. He maintained an even voice and eye contact with L as he spoke. “You </span>
  <em>
    <span>know </span>
  </em>
  <span>my magic. This phenomenon is not my doing.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L scoffed irritably, but he turned away from Dimentio in reluctant acceptance of that answer. He offered his hand to Luigi. He pulled the man off the ground a lot more than Luigi did any amount of standing himself up. As he balanced on his feet, he neglected to let go of L’s hand. “Wh… what </span>
  <em>
    <span>is </span>
  </em>
  <span>it then?” Luigi asked timidly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio’s eyes darted quickly - almost discreetly - to L. He did not determine an immediate threat of being struck again, so he decided to speak. “...I cannot be certain,” he said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L’s eyes narrowed. “...</span>
  <em>
    <span>but?</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There is no ‘but’. I am not certain.” Dimentio shifted away from the table and stood up straight. He busied himself smoothing his poncho where it had fallen askew to avoid looking at L directly. “And I am somewhat reluctant to begin making wild speculations.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let’s have a calm speculation,” L suggested firmly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio gave him a displeased look. His gaze shifted cautiously to Luigi before he spoke. “...Mister L. As we surveyed the strange situation we have found ourselves in… I believe I confided in you my lapse in magical power?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You did.” L folded his arms across his chest and narrowed his eyes. “Does that ‘lapse of power’ apply to a </span>
  <em>
    <span>different </span>
  </em>
  <span>bag of tricks? ‘Cause you sure did teleport back to the house a few hours ago.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi chewed on his lower lip nervously and pressed his back against the sink. He had seen Dimentio’s explosive pyrotechnic magic in the woods. It had haunted his dreams too frequently and vividly for him to be mistaken. But the thought caught in his throat when he tried to form it into words. He didn’t manage to spit it out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Perhaps I may have… </span>
  <em>
    <span>exaggerated </span>
  </em>
  <span>the severity of my predicament,” Dimentio said carefully. “My magical reserves have been bleeding from my soul - like helium wheezing from a pinprick on a slowly dying balloon. I had next to nothing left within me. When faced with a crisis, I gathered the power I was able to grasp.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How convenient,” L muttered. “Just enough magic for exactly when you need it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio pursed his lips. His arms folded across his chest. “To be fair,” he said with a heavy sigh. “It was </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>enough. I drastically miscalculated, and did not have nearly the amount of magic I had assumed.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh!” L grinned teasingly. “Hence, when you fell on the ground and took a four hour </span>
  <em>
    <span>coma</span>
  </em>
  <span>!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Stars - was it four hours?” Dimentio muttered. He rubbed idly at his forehead with one hand, as if something there still pained him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Upwards of it,” L confirmed. “Had to keep checking if you were breathing. Thought you might have </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually </span>
  </em>
  <span>died.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio sneered. “I’m touched.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So, if you </span>
  <em>
    <span>didn’t</span>
  </em>
  <span> do this...” L pressed. He already sounded skeptical. “...even on accident. Give me a better answer.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I doubt I have an answer you will accept as ‘better’,” Dimentio said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>An </span>
  </em>
  <span>answer,” L shot back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio bought himself a few extra seconds by inhaling deeply and shifting his weight against the table. “I did explain to you, when we arrived here, that I was powerless - unfortunately - by my own design. I had left my power behind with Luigi -”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So, </span>
  <em>
    <span>you did this</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” L jabbed a finger at Luigi for emphasis, and the sudden motion made him jump more than it should have. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This strange illness is not symptomatic of my magic,” Dimentio said, shaking his head. “I doubt Luigi would be able to tap into my power, even unintentionally, in any way that it could physically manifest. It was meant to be only a boost to his own strength and soul.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L and Luigi waited impatiently for Dimentio to continue. When he left his thought at that, L snapped, “So what went wrong?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio steepled his hands together and pressed his fingers against his mouth. He contemplated the phrasing of his thoughts very carefully before he voiced them. “I am afraid we are still feeding a parasite.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi choked sharply, but he managed to suppress the urge to cough and swallow the sick feeling down. L held up a finger and gave Dimentio a stern look. “No, no - no ‘we’. One person here is a </span>
  <em>
    <span>lot </span>
  </em>
  <span>more at fault than the other two.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fine. </span>
  <em>
    <span>My </span>
  </em>
  <span>power, then,” Dimentio said. “My concern remains. I lent my power to Luigi in order to fuel the Chaos Heart in my absence. Observing his current condition, I do not believe it ever left him.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A ragged choking sound involuntarily scraped out of Luigi’s throat. He braced a hand on the counter as another small coughing fit overtook him. L took his other hand to support him, and Luigi managed to not collapse again. With a great deal of willpower, he refrained from vomiting up any more of the blackness. Gradually, he calmed himself and found the ability to speak again. “This hasn’t… this has </span>
  <em>
    <span>never </span>
  </em>
  <span>happened to me before,” Luigi said slowly, minding the strain on his voice. “I’ve never felt like this. It only started when I ran into </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>again.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Understandably. A personal encounter is quite different from the plague of memory.” Dimentio stepped towards the kitchen with slow deliberateness. He maintained a cautious distance from the room’s other occupants, but Luigi still shifted behind L to the other end of the counter. He did not want to let Dimentio an inch closer than reasonably necessary.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio leaned over the countertop and squinted curiously at the black sludge that still dripped from the granite surface. Most of the small mass held its shape in a puddle the same way a glob of spilled honey would. “Fear is something that the Heart feeds on. And this illness is rather reminiscent of how the Heart has portrayed itself in the past. It </span>
  <em>
    <span>is </span>
  </em>
  <span>capable of inflicting some degree of physical and psychological turmoil upon its captor - I have seen it toy with the Count's mind and body at close range."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi felt a cold chill jolt down his spine. His heartbeat picked up a quick and erratic pace, and Luigi clumsily reached up to press a hand firmly against his chest, as if he could physically smother the sound. "So, I… are - are you saying it's </span>
  <em>
    <span>in </span>
  </em>
  <span>me?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Somewhat," Dimentio said dismissively as he straightened up again. "I doubt sincerely that you've kept it in tact. If you had the whole of it, the Heart would have torn you apart and swallowed you by now."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi choked in horror, and the air lodging in his windpipe made an alarming enough noise that L offered Luigi his hand again. Luigi gratefully squeezed it a little too hard. "Can you get it </span>
  <em>
    <span>out</span>
  </em>
  <span>?" L pressed on his behalf. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A startled laugh escaped Dimentio quite on accident. "In my state? Certainly not. In complete wellness, in fact, I would not bet generously on it."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi whined miserably, running his free hand through his tangled hair. He found a few shreds of damp grass still stuck in it. Dimentio chanced another step closer and pinned him in place with a hard stare. "Luigi, I would implore you - difficult though it may be - to </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>start panicking. Your turmoil is </span>
  <em>
    <span>feeding </span>
  </em>
  <span>it. It could very likely be that any power it is trying to siphon from you is overflowing from its remains and spilling out of you."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"But, this hasn't happened before!" Luigi repeated desperately. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Something to do with the Void popping back up?" L suggested with a grim expression. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi glanced apprehensively between the two. His distressed look went ignored. Dimentio held a hand thoughtfully to his chin as he mulled over possibilities. "In history, the two </span>
  <em>
    <span>have </span>
  </em>
  <span>become synonymous. However, I have only known the Void to arrive at the Heart's beckoning."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"No, I - I didn't -" Luigi cut himself off to press a trembling hand against his throat. He feared for a moment that he would vomit again, but he managed to take a shaking breath and push the feeling down. "I didn't start this."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Woah, hey, nobody is saying you did," L told him firmly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Inaction is not innocence," Dimentio argued. "He has more than nothing to do with the situation, you cannot deny that."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L turned to give Dimentio an exasperated look. "What is wrong with you? If it </span>
  <em>
    <span>is </span>
  </em>
  <span>a fear thing, quit poking it!"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio had the nerve to look offended, placing a hand to his chest like a scandalized damsel. "Oh, pardon my bedside manner - I thought we were still investigating the apocalypse that has been suddenly thrust upon us, and how we can avoid perishing in its voracious maw."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"See, saying shit like that is just making it worse," L snapped, jabbing a finger at Dimentio. "All you're doing is stressing him out. What good is that supposed to do?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I'm </span>
  <em>
    <span>investigating,</span>
  </em>
  <span>" Dimentio repeated dryly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You're a nuisance," L argued. He glanced to Luigi for some kind of confirmation, but he froze and his next thought died before it was out of his mouth. "Shit, you look awful…" he breathed instead.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi grimaced and fidgeted nervously. Dimentio huffed and sank into one of the kitchen chairs. "Ah, what delicate concern. How careless I - and only I - have clearly been."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L flipped to anger like Dimentio had toggled a lightswitch in him. Before he spoke, he stopped himself, and visibly struggled to take the scathing comment on the tip of his tongue and put it back down. He offered a hand to Luigi instead. "You need to lie down or something," he suggested. "You look like you might fall over again."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi's knees shook at the suggestion, as if they ached to take L up on the offer and collapse to the ground. "I'm fine," Luigi lied anyway, shaking his head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L flicked his eyes skeptically over Luigi. "Okay… you're not. Let's at least take a break, yeah?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A quiet space and decent rest sounded beyond tempting at the moment. But, Luigi's heart still hammered erratically in his ribcage, making his breath stutter in the silence. He twisted his fingers anxiously in the fabric of his shirt, pressing his fist against his chest to stifle the sound. "I don't know…" he muttered. "I really think… I </span>
  <em>
    <span>need </span>
  </em>
  <span>to know what's happening to me."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Yes, listen to your better half, Mister L," Dimentio chided. "I would hate to see tragedy strike due to careless negligence."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>L frowned angrily and took a step towards Dimentio that made the magician flinch back in alarm. "Don't fucking </span>
  <em>
    <span>threaten</span>
  </em>
  <span> him."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Words escaped Dimentio for a moment. "I wasn't -"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You were," L cut him off. Dimentio did not manage a response for that. L returned his attention and concern to Luigi and jerked his head towards the bedroom door. "Go rest, really. You're not doing yourself any favors to push yourself."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dimentio made a face at the comment, but he settled for propping his chin in his hand and remaining silent. L waited patiently for Luigi to reply. "I c-can't -" With a rattling gasp, Luigi ran a hand over his face. He tried again. "I'm not going back to sleep."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Especially not with the two of them in the house, but he didn't manage to get the whole thought out of his mouth. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Don't sleep, then," L bargained with a shrug. "But at least stay off the leg. Maybe tomorrow we'll see if you can keep some damn food down."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi grimaced at the floor uncertainly. L craned his neck to try catching Luigi's gaze, but he minded his personal space. "Door locks, yeah? We won't bug you."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi forced himself to take another breath and shakily nodded his head. He declined L's offered arm for support and managed to stay upright all the way to the bedroom. The other two, thankfully, allowed him to keep his distance. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When he locked the bedroom door behind him, a violent shiver crawled up his spine. He clung to the doorknob for stability and nearly retched again. Three slow, pained breaths, and he swallowed it back down. Only a thin drop of black slipped past his lips and dribbled down his chin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The drop fell to the floor and hit the bright carpet, and it was too similar to the ransacked and blood soaked castle bedroom from his nightmare. His stomach lurched, and immediately he choked a small wad of the goopy substance into his hand. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luigi staggered into the bathroom and vomited into the sink. His fumbling hands turned the faucet on to clear the awful sight off the porcelain and somewhat drown the gagging noise with the sound of running water. The sickness gradually passed again, leaving Luigi feeling weak and dizzy. He sank slowly and carefully down to his knees, then adjusted himself to lean heavily against the cool wood of the cabinets. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He focused very hard on breathing evenly and resisting the overwhelming urge to black out. He did not intend to fall asleep in this house again. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Beware, beware, be skeptical<br/>Of their smiles, their smiles of plated gold<br/>Deceit, so natural<br/>But, a wolf in sheep's clothing<br/>Is More Than A Warning</p><p>- Wolf in Sheep's Clothing, Set If Off</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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